It had been a long afternoon but they each met up at J'onn's office after making their rounds. They'd been patrolling the city since the attack; J'onn, Dreamer and Guardian, both in costume and without. The situation out there in the community wasn't good.
"it's like everyone had given up" Nia reported, slumped in a chair in her civilian clothes thinking about the restaurant she helped clean up, the look on anguish on the alien waiter's face, the frustration on his blue chef. "There has to be something we can do?" she asked.
"The police are stretched thin between these random attacks and the rising tide of black market weapons" J'onn said as he paced around the room, the police scanner rattling on his oak table for them to listen to. In the last hour there had been four assaults, two home invasions, multiple counts of vandalism across the city spreading anti-alien messages, and one reported fire downtown. There wasn't enough officers to keep up and the superheroes were getting exhausted. "The acting captain is out of his depth trying to manage it all."
"I doubt Captain Sawyer could've done any better" James remarked, dressed in his costume with the helmet on the table as he pressed an ice pack to his temple. The armour protected him from serious harm but it couldn't stop a cricket bat from bruising his ego.
"Maybe not, but I…infiltrated the NCPD just to see how bad the situation was getting" J'onn confessed. "it turns out Sawyer was already tracking patterns of activity in the weeks leading up to now about criminal activity, domestic incidents, thefts, stalking reports and threatening behaviour. It's possible she was onto the Children of Liberty before we were. She had officers staking out known meeting places from Ben Lockwood's time."
"And then she got caught in the bomb at Jake's apartment and it all got derailed?" James asked, seeing the irony. "Anybody would think the Sentinel was onto her and tried to take her off the board."
"Great, more reasonable doubt to clear Jake's name" Nia muttered.
James nodded in agreement, sharing her frustration. He looked over at her asking "heard from Kara yet?"
"No. you?" she asked back. He shook his head, leaving them both dismayed. "I hope she's okay?"
"So do we" J'onn said. "But right now we need to come up with a response to the aggression rising in the city. If people are losing hope then we need to find a way to bring it back."
"Show the city this kind of terrorism won't succeed" Olsen agreed, standing up joining the black man as he paced in thought. "What we need is to spend a message that everyone will hear and listen to. I could set up a broadcast at Cacto that could condemn the actions from the Children of Liberty."
Nia lifted her head, thinking about what the people she'd met and talked too really needed. "What the people out there need is hope" she said. "They need to realise they don't have to go through this alone. We need to inspire them to stand up for themselves. To show this city we will not be scared into submission."
J'onn and James looked at her nodding along, agreeing with the sentiment. "A news article won't be enough" James thought, the plan taking root in his head. "We should do a live broadcast. Someone should speak out to the people, someone they trust and will listen too."
"Like Supergirl!" Nia said. But then her excitement faltered as she wondered "would Kara be up to a public speech right now?"
"Maybe not" J'onn conceded, but his expression remained thoughtful. "But maybe there's someone else who could speak instead. Someone else who the public will listen too. Someone who has already inspired the next generation of human-alien relations?"
Both the tall black men shared a look, as if J'onn's telepathy was enabling him to convey his meaning to the human who broke into grin in agreement. Nia looked at them both, wondering who they were talking about…until she realised they were both looking at her.
Less than an hour later the stage was set at the empty Cacto office as Olsen set up the camera rig in his office. He'd set the uplink with the network easy with the help of Brainy, who eagerly volunteered to assist when he saw the logic behind their plan. Nia was still hesitant about her role in it as she suited up in her blue and silver costume, standing nervously as J'onn hooked her up with a microphone. "I'm still not sure about this" she confessed quietly.
"You agreed this is the best course of action" he said.
"I know, but…I'm not sure why it should be me" she said. "I'm not Supergirl, or like any of you. I've only just started too…"
"Nia, you are as much a hero of this city as Supergirl is" J'onn told her. "And you've already got the people, both human and alien, behind you. They'll listen to you" he assured her.
But it wasn't them listening that worried her. "I'm not…used to doing this. Public speaking was never my strong suit."
"Your interview last year said otherwise" James remarked as he came over to test the audio. "You were great then."
"Yeah, but I wasn't, like, speaking to the nation or anything" she argued. "It was an interview, with someone I trusted."
"That interview inspired people like Dorian to take their place in this community" Brainy reminded her, finishing his technical checks to comfort his girlfriend. "You can do this. We all believe in you."
Nia took a shaky breath, looking around at the camera set up which she was meant to be standing in front of, speaking to everyone in National City like a politician. She was meant to inspire them, bring hope back. What if she said the wrong thing? What if she makes things worse? What was she even going to say? Suddenly she wished she'd rehearse this or at least written a script. "I don't know if I can do this" she squeaked, jitters starting to set in.
"I say that every time I do one of these things too" Kara's voice chuckled as the woman strode into the office in her work clothes. Everyone stopped to see her walking in with Alex by her side and Eliza close behind. "The trick is to take a deep breath and speak from the heart" she said.
"Kara! I can't believe you're here" Nia cried, rushing forward to embrace her in relief.
"James phoned and told us what you guys were doing" Alex explained at the rest gathered around to greet them. "We thought about watching it on the TV but we couldn't not come here in person."
"I'm glad you did" James smiled, turning to Kara asking "are you okay?"
"I'm better" she nodded, checking out the set up and fixing Nia's mask. "You shouldn't be nervous. You got this" she told her quietly. "And if it helps, just look at us. Don't think about who else might be watching."
"But what am I going to say?" she asked.
"It'll come to you. Trust me" she said reassuringly, leading Nia to her position helping calm her nerves.
J'onn stayed when he locked eyes with Eliza Danvers. "I didn't realise you were in the city" he said.
"I just got in" she replied, greeting her old friend warmly. "It's good to see you J'onn. I hope you've been well."
He smiled, regarding the woman who he had so much history with. "I'm trying. It's good you're here. The girls need you."
"I know. We should talk, soon" she told him, lowering her voice as she watched her daughters talk with their friends.
"My office, when we're finished?" he queried, following her gaze after seeing the pride in her eyes. She nodded, patting his shoulder as she stood back and watched everyone set up the broadcast.
"How are we doing?" Alex asked Brainy as she looked over the equipment.
He gave it one last look before answering "the network uplink is ready. And I've set up a connection to all the other network channels in the city. Once we begin, every TV and radio station will be broadcasting our message." She nodded. If it meant a few station managers were going to get mad they were hijacking their signals, she'll deal with the complaints. As long as the message got out to as many people as possible, it would be worth it.
They gave the signal to Olsen, who turned to Nia telling her "we're ready."
She took a deep breath as Kara gave her one last supportive word of encouragement. "You can do this. We're all behind you" she said, stepping back out of frame so Nia was left on her own in front of the camera. Everyone stood behind Olsen who lined up the viewport before switching on the record button. He gave Brainy the signal who pressed some buttons bringing a row of red lights to life, each other turning green one after the other. When they were all set he flipped the switch and signalled Nia.
"Hello National City" Nia said, looking at the camera as her image was projected across to every TV screen available. "Some of you already know me as Dreamer. I'm here to talk to you about the…about the recent tragedy that happened earlier today at the rally for our senate candidate."
She faltered a moment as she trailed off, her eyes looking down at the bloodstained pin she brought with her to try and remind herself why she was doing this. She looked up past the camera and saw her friends looking back encouragingly. Speak from the heart Kara had suggested. So she did.
"I was there at the rally when it happen. I had a chance to listen to Dorian, a chance to talk to them. They spoke about how they wanted to bring a voice that spoke for their people. But they weren't talking about Octurians. They were talking about this city, the place they were born, where they were raised. They wanted to create a bridge between the people of this planet and those from outside it, to show everyone both here and out there that Earth was home to all races, no matter where they are from.
"I felt his message deeply on a personal level. As you know, I'm half human. I got to be a part of both sides of the discussion, because I was born of two worlds. My ancestral home world and this one, my home. And now I'm…privileged to be one of the brave men and women who chose to stand up and fight for what's right and protect my home. But the thing is…when I put this costume on, I never realised what kind of impact I would have. I just wanted to help people anyway I can. So did Dorian. Thing is…they told me that I was reason they found the courage to go out and fight for change. I inspired them to stand up for what they believed in. which is, if I'm being honest, baffling because it's people like them, people out there both human and alien, who inspired me. I couldn't do any of this without them showing the world that it could change. It can grow.
"What happened today was more than just a tragedy though. We lost a good person today, and I wish I could've done more. But the real tragedy is why it happened. People like the Sentinel and the Children of Liberty, people who hide behind masks and seek only to spread fear and hate willing to kill innocent people just because we're different? A year ago I spoke out against Ben Lockwood in an effort to demonstrate humans and aliens can co-exist. And in that year, I witnessed a great change in humanity as the people of this city stood up against his bigotry and together we proved there can be peace. But seeing them again today…"
Nia could feel herself getting swept up in her emotion, the words seemingly writing themselves as she said them. She looked up into the camera, finding her confidence as the city sat on tenterhooks. Across the city men and women, families both human and alien watched and listened intently as Dreamer stood on their screens proudly. Lena sat in her office with a big smile on her face as she stopped working to watch the broadcast. In the Cacto office everyone else was watching with pride as Nia found her stride.
"This attack was meant to be a display of defiance against what they believe to be an invasion. But the truth is all it was is a cowardly act against a community that has done nothing but coexist peacefully. They bombed our home and attacked our families without provocation, no matter what they claim. But I'm not here to speak about the Children of Liberty, because they don't deserve any of my attention anymore. My focus is on the people of this city. I'm speaking to everyone out there who has been forced to relive some of the most painful moments in their lives and are continuing to lose hope. I'm here to tell you that you are not alone. This will not be like it was before. These bigots don't have power over us any longer. They murdered a man who sought nothing but to bring a message peace and compassion to the world, whether they won the senate seat or not. But what they didn't realise is Dorian wasn't alone. There will always be more of us who will stand up for what is right, who will stand against people like them, who will stand against hate and fear. I am proud to count myself as one of you and of this world. I and my friends will not give up hope, and neither should you. if we all stand together, if we all support each other, if we all stay strong, we will whether this storm and when we do, there will be a brighter future waiting for us."
She looked down at the pin in her hand, recalling something Dorian had said in their speech. "We can all dream for a better world" she finished, wondering if they'd be proud of her.
The broadcast was stopped once Nia finished talking, the networks returning to normal. In the office everyone looked at her breaking into a small applause. Nia let out a long exhale, relieved it was over as she walked over to join them removing her mask. "How was that?" she asked breathlessly.
Kara beamed with pride. "It was inspiring" she told her honestly.
"Couldn't have put it better myself" Olsen grinned patting her shoulder.
The others echoed the sentiments as Nia tried not to blush under the praise. She walked over to Brainy who was making sure the message was playing on every channel, giving him a kiss thanking him for his help. "I predict a seventy-seven percent chance that everyone in the city got your message."
"I hope that's enough" she said, walking over to the window looking out at the city as the sun approached the horizon. Only time would tell if she made an impact or not. But for now, she was glad she got to spread a little bit hope to the city.
The broadcast was repeated by most of the new networks who considered it a response to the anti-alien movement growing in the city once more. Many commented how Dreamer's message was both a political message but also an outcry against the violence in the city. There were already people calling in expressing their support to the transgender human-naltorian young woman, calling her an inspirational figure in the community. "to have a superhero like her means that anyone can be a hero, no matter who they are or where they're from" one girl said when she was interviewed. The news anchors remained impartial but couldn't help express support against the rising violence from the Children of Liberty, which shifted public opinion even further in the heroes favour.
Meanwhile, in the dimly lit bowling alley where the Children of Liberty have set up their hideout, Miranda Oakridge stood stoically in front of the TV screen watching the broadcast again, her eyes fixed on the image of Dreamer as she relayed her message to the city. Around her many members of their group seethed in anger behind their masks, calling to switch the TV off. But she refused. She wanted them to see her face and who she was and what she represented. Her driver came up beside her, his cold expression mirroring hers. "Is this a problem?" he asked.
She nodded silently. "But she will also be a solution" she said calmly as she looked into the eyes of the people's supposed hero.