Brainy peered through his spectroscope analysing the glowing metal in front of him, computer screens projecting all manner of analysis as equipment scanned and examined the weapon sitting on the table. The Coluan's ability to multitask had him running calculations whilst scraping a tiny sliver of the kryptonite from the blade to place into a microscope of Lena to analyse beside him. She leaned over the eyepiece recording the image onto a nearby computer. Her eye narrowed along with his as they confirmed the data. "Fascinating" he mused.
Kara paced outside the lab behind the thick glass walls watching them nervously, the isolated room shielding her from the effects of the kryptonite. But even so she was hesitant to approach the doorway whenever it opened. Her pulse wouldn't stop racing. "Hey, are you alright?" Jon's voice asked, the large black man joining her making her jump in surprise.
"I'm fine" he replied, still staring into the lab. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"I thought I'd check in with you and Alex" he explained, gently pulling her away from the lab so they could let the scientists work. "I heard about what happened with Maxwell last night. It soundly like quite the ordeal. Then when I got here I overheard something about a kryptonite sword?"
"This guy…a teenager was robbing a convenience store. He had a gun, but he also had that" she explained, pointing to the lab. "It was in this lead scabbard, I didn't notice… I had never seen anything like it. I called Alex once I subdued the robber and she brought the police with her to secure the scene. We made a deal with Maggie to take procession of the weapon and brought it here. I overheard some grumbling about the last time the NCPD took advanced weapons into their evidence room…"
"The ones that were stolen and returned to Hanks Militia" he nodded, recalling the puzzling events. He'd been meaning to look into that on the side but never got around to it. "I'm sure it took some convincing. But where did this kryptonite come from?"
"I don't know. The same place Hank got his stash for Metallo?" Kara wondered. Alex arrived moments later finishing her phone call, joining Kara and Jon on the balcony overlooking the war table. "Anything?" Kara asked optimistically.
"The junkie confirmed he stole the sword from his uncle" she said. "The police interviewed him a few minutes ago. He's livid his nephew stole from him but refuses to tell us where he got the sword."
"Who is this man?" Jon asked.
"Just some low life" she shrugged. "Works nights at a nightclub as a bartender. Police found a stash of cocaine in his house. They think he moonlights as a drug dealer. During the interview he confessed to owning a gun, which was used in the robbery. But the sword he swears he bought it at a pawn shop, only he won't say which one."
"There is no way pawn shops would sell a kryptonite weapon" Kara dismissed. "He must be lying."
"Unless the pawn shop is a front for black market weapons" Jon considered. Alex nodded, finding it a credible theory. "Still doesn't explain where this kryptonite came from."
"Maybe Henshaw didn't use all of his stash for Metallo" Alex suggested. "Maybe he made more weapons."
"But then why sell them and not use them when he attacked Argo?"
Their conversation was interrupted when Dreamer came running in dressed in her blue and silver costume. "Hey, sorry I'm late!" she said panting for breath.
"Did you run here?" Kara asked.
"Not all of us can fly really fast" she pointed out. "I heard you ran into trouble and I came to help."
"I appreciate it Nia, but its fine. The bad guys in custody. We're just trying to figure out where the weapon he's using came from."
"It may be imperative we find out" Brainy declared as he and Lena exited the lab to join the group upon the balcony. He gave a welcoming nod to Dreamer and Jon before holding up his tablet showing the results of their analysis. "It is indeed made from kryptonite."
"Any idea where it came from?" Alex asked.
"There's no way to know" Lena said. "But what we do know is whoever made it was…to be honest, they must be a genius" she confessed.
"This kryptonite is the most refined sample we've ever come across" Brainy reported, sounding very enthusiastic about his findings. "It's been smelted down to its purest form and moulded exquisitely into a metal both dense and light in weight, tempered to be as sharp as a katana. Someone skilfully forged this mineral into a perfect blade."
"I don't think I've ever seen Lex develop his weapons to such a degree" Lena added, equally as marvelled.
"You two sound very excited about the prospect of someone building kryptonite weapons" Dreamer noted uncomfortably.
The two scientists shrugged sheepishly. "In our line of work you have to admire the ingenuity" Lena replied. She briefly grimaced, realising that was much the same argument Maxwell made about her brother.
"So we have no way to trace where it came from?" Alex double checked. They shook their heads. She sighed. "I'll let Maggie know. Maybe her investigation into the uncle will give us a lead to the buyer, who can lead us to the source." she stepped away to text the captain with her update.
"I thought you had a way to detect kryptonite across the world?" Dreamer asked.
"Unless it's shielded in a protected facility" Brainy answered discouragingly. "Assuming whoever is working with kryptonite knows how to hide it, it'll be difficult to locate."
"We assumed we destroyed the last of it until Metallo was reactivated" Jon noted. "How much would it take to make a weapon like that?"
"Not as much as you'd think" Lena said thoughtfully. "But between this and the army of robots powered by it, it does amount to quite a stockpile."
"I could start looking through the records of places across the globe for likely facilities that could hide a stash of that magnitude, but I'll be like looking for a needled in a planet full of haystacks" Brainy said.
"Then we need a magnet" Jon said, getting nods in agreement. "We know Henshaw got his hands on kryptonite to power his robot army."
"Which was built at the behest of Maxwell from TITAN Industries" Kara continued.
"But they didn't have the power source to activate them" Nia noted, referring Supergirl to their initial investigation of Axis Environmental. "They were stuck trying to find replacements until Hank stole them."
"Which means TITAN didn't have kryptonite to use, but Hank suddenly did? You know come to think of it, there was something that didn't add up" she noted. "After stealing the drone army his militia hit those power plants to steal the fusion reactors. We thought he was using them to power the robots."
"But then they show up and he's using kryptonite" Jon nodded, pondering the same.
"So why steal the fusion reactors if you had kryptonite?" Dreamer asked.
The group pondered the question until Lena suggested "what if it was a trade? Cyborg superman didn't have the kryptonite but someone else did? And the deal for their supply was the fusion cores."
By this time Alex has returned to the group to listen in. "that could be possible" she considered. "Captain Sawyer just informed me there's been talk on the street about a new source of advanced weapons. She's got a task force looking into it, so I passed them our theory about a black market weapons merchant. If that's true, they might be the ones who supplied the kryptonite, and the weapons that were stolen from their impound."
"A black market weapons manufacturer?" Kara mused with a shiver.
"A black market weapons maker" Lena exhaled. "Somebody with enough skill to make those kinds of weapons could do almost anything with a fusion reactor."
"They could make devastating weapons of mass destruction" Brainy concurred.
Nia shuddered. "I guess it's goo they only got one then" she said optimistically.
"One would be enough" he replied pessimistically.
"Not just the cores" Lena added ominously. "The tech that went with it was state of the art, experimental. That alone could advance his work considerably."
Dreamer thought back to the last confrontation with Hanks Militia and the way they retreated when she and Guardian fought them back. "They did get away with a lot of equipment" she muttered.
Kara put a hand on her shoulder. "You weren't to know" she whispered. Nia nodded but still felt like she'd been punched in the gut. "Is it possible Maxwell could be behind all of this?" Kara asked Lena.
She shook her head. "The FBI combed through every inch of his business, and so did my lawyers. Maxwell was a revolutionary but this work is beyond him. It may be beyond even me. TITAN had nothing to do with it."
"Could the Red Devil…sorry, the Reckoning be involved?" Nia asked.
They all fell silent considering his role in the last few events. "It's possible" Lena noted.
"He was working with Henshaw to steal the Metallo drones" Kara said. "He could've supplied the kryptonite."
"And his suit bears much of the same skilled craftsmanship as these other weapons" Brainy agreed.
"Maxwell told us about an engineer who worked on the suit" Lena continued. "He said the guy was talented. Very talented. Maybe this designer and the Reckoning are one in the same?"
"I've got agents looking through TITAN Industries employment records looking for that guy" Alex said. "But without a name we'll be slogging through so much background checks we might drown."
"Maybe me and my…friend at Cacto can help with that" Kara offered, glancing at Dreamer who gave her a subtle smile acknowledging it. "I'm sure James will help too."
"I'd appreciate it" Alex agreed.
"In the meantime we have one direct lead we may have overlooked" Jon noted cautiously, drawing everyone's attention. "Henshaw may know who the Reckoning is."
"He has worked with him previously" Brainy acknowledged. "And he is currently locked up in Stryker's Island penitentiary under tight security in their metahumans wing."
"I thought he was in Iron Heights?" Dreamer inquired.
"He got into a conflict with some of their inmates" Alex told her. "He was transferred a week ago after breaking the jaw of one of the Flashes rogues. He's been in isolation ever since."
"One of us should pay him a visit, see what he knows" Jon suggested, sensing immediately he was about to be met with resistance.
"That sounds like a bad idea" Alex said. "Why would he talk to any of us?"
"He wouldn't" Kara agreed. But then she added "but then the Reckoning did turn on him and leave him for the police. Maybe he'll be willing to help us find if in order for some payback."
"My thoughts exactly" Jon nodded. "Plus, if I go, I may be able to gleam some insight from his mind with my telepathy."
"Are you sure you want to go snooping through the mind of that madman?" Dreamer asked.
"If it gets us answers to our questions, it's something we must consider."
The others couldn't argue as they were scrambling for any information they could get their hands on. "I'll put a call into the prison" Alex said begrudgingly. "It may be a few hours before we can arrange a visit" she warned. Jon nodded, willing to wait and offering any other assistance in the meantime.
With the all the avenues of the investigation thought out the group finally dispersed to get back to work. Lena opted to return to L-Corp to dig into TITAN records looking for their mysterious engineer. Brainy returned to the lab to catalogue the kryptonite sword and log it into storage. Dreamer offered to help him, giving Lena a nervous farewell when they passed. Kara volunteered to return to Cacto to enlist Olsen into helping look through all the employment paperwork, strolling out to the open window and flying into the sky. Alex returned to her station to coordinate with the local police to learn anything they can about this knew black market source. Jon offered to assist her while they prepared a visit to Cyborg Superman.
In the lab Brainy finished his analysis on the blade while Nia waited nearby lost in thought. "You know I don't require your help with this, but it is welcome" he remarked quietly, sensing she was distracted.
"I know. I was considering using the training room to practice a bit" she said, leaning against the table. She didn't want to say anything, but she was starting to wonder how much she was contributing to the investigation lately. After her close call with parasite she'd been feeling next to useless. She wasn't there when Maxwell attacked Lena, she slept through the confrontation with the Reckoning at the factory, and even now she felt like a sixth wheel. But at most she was reconsidering her interpretation of her visions. "Could Maxwell have survived if I hadn't gotten involved?" she asked aloud.
Brainy paused in his work to look at her. "Are you asking if initiating your investigation into the man may have led to his death?" he enquired. She looked at her hands silently, her expression one of doubt. He walked over to her and folded his arms behind his back, standing straight in front of her. "You believed this man was working with Cyborg Superman and conspired to harm hundreds of people. You believed he would be responsible for the deaths of hundreds more in the future, and that he was a threat of one of our closest friends. You're investigation was the most logical course of action Nia" he told her.
"But I was wrong" she replied. "He wasn't the bad guy I was looking for."
"No, he wasn't" he agreed. "But he was responsible for crimes that took the lives of innocent people. And you helped expose those crimes and bring him to justice. And I must add, on a personal note, his actions could've killed you. He deserved to be investigated and arrested."
"But he didn't deserve to be murdered" she said. "What if exposing him set him onto the path that lead to his death. Maybe if I hadn't misread my vision, if I had left him be, he wouldn't have died like that."
Brainy took on a rare moment of sympathy as he put his hands on Nia's shoulders, lifting her gaze so she looked at him. "I came from the future where all of this, this is in our history books" he told her. "I've memorised every moment in that history. But I've learnt even I cannot be sure what will happen. Our actions define our future, and so do the actions of hundreds of variables. You could not know what would happen when you made that prediction. None of us could. But just like we can't change our decision, we also cannot change the outcome because we were not responsible for his death. That responsibility lies with the man who killed him. Now it is our responsibility to bring that man to justice for his crimes. Do you understand?"
Nia stared at him and nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek exhaling slowly. "Thanks brainy" she smiled. He nodded back, calculating this was the appropriate time to either give her a hug or a kiss. He opted for the kiss on the cheek, which she appreciated. "I'm still worried I'm getting it wrong" she said.
"Have you had any more visions since the last one?" he asked her. She shook her head. Her dreams had been mercifully quiet. "Then maybe you should consider meditating."
"You mean summon another vision?" she squeaked, the idea terrifying her.
"If one comes to you, it may have more clues to offer now" he said. "It may bring clarity to the one part of your dreams you are struggling to understand" he added comfortingly.
She gulped, knowing exactly which part of the dream he was talking about: whether it was the Reckoning she should be concerned about or Supergirl.