Business at Cacto had become hectic in the following couple of days, so much so James was practically run off his feet managing the place to keep up. All anyone seemed to want to talk about was speculation to Dreamers fate following the interruption of the Children of Liberty's broadcast. He thought his story revealing she survived would calm the people but instead it divided them. Many doubted the story due to her not being seen since the incident. Those who did believe her to be alive voiced their optimism and hope.

James paused in his work as editor and chief to look out of his office to check on Nia, who was sitting at her desk furiously working on her story about the effect this turmoil is having on the community. She hasn't been out in costume following her agreement with Alex, which James noticed she had stopped arguing over. On more than one occasion he saw her shaking, catching her in the hallway on her own taking a few deep breathes. He was familiar with trauma and wondered if she was as fine as she said she was. He'd promised their friends to look out for her while she was at work. Kara would come back later to take her out for dinner before taking her home. Between them and the DEO security detail Nia was under constant surveillance in case the Sentinel of Liberty chose to come after her again.

Putting aside the validity of Dreamer's living status, the only thing both sides could agree upon was that the Children of Liberty were getting more and more brazen and bold following this incident. Members were out in daylight attacking the refugees, vandalising their houses, stalking and intimidating families in the streets. But rather than cower and hide like everyone expected, more and more people were coming out to confront them, chase them away, and intercede on the alien's behalf. News outlets were flooded with reports of ordinary citizens fighting back, both alien and human. Cacto itself was getting emails and letters of support with James eagerly printed as soon as he could. The speech Dreamer had given was working. The city was turning against the Children of Liberty.

He looked up from his desk towards the young woman, wondering if she'd want to see all of this. But he decided to let her work, give her some space to herself for a while. She'd already remarked about him hovering over her when she realised Kara had got in his ear. "No offence, but it's a little weird to have my boss hovering over my shoulder constantly" she had said in a brief moment of frustration. He apologised and backed off, but always made sure she was within sight. With her secret identity in jeopardy she could find herself in danger at any time.

Thinking about secret identities made James think about his. Nia's wasn't the only vigilante in danger anymore. Jake had uncovered his life as Guardian too. How long until he had bad guys knocking at his door? He hadn't given himself time to think about that, focusing on Kara or Nia or the job. But Jake was in his house, had become his friend, and all the time he knew one of his biggest secrets. It was easy to overlook James position next to everyone else he was worried too. He just didn't think his worry superseded what his friends were going through.

Until the knock on the glass door to his office brought his attention to the attractive dark skinned young woman greeting him warmly. "What's a girl got to do to get your attention around here?" she asked teasingly. "I've been sitting in the reception for the last hour waiting for you to pick up your phone."

"You have?" James blinked, digging out his mobile buried under stacks of papers to find several missed calls from his sister. "Crap, I am so sorry" he told her, standing up from his desk racing around to embrace her. "It's been a long day" he apologised.

"I can see that" Kelly laughed, looking at the mess pretending to be his office.

James quickly tidied up the couch so they could take a seat, smiling broadly as his younger sister sat beside him. It had been a few months since they had seen each other. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?"

"I tried" she reiterated, gesturing to the slew of missed calls on his phone which he now saw went back nearly a week. "I heard about the Children of Liberty on the news and thought I'd come up to check on you" she explained.

"I don't need checking up on" he assured her.

"Oh, so you're staying out of trouble and not putting yourself in the middle of all this?" she asked. He pulled a face and she took his hesitation as an admission. "You always were reckless and stubborn" she muttered.

"And you always worry too much" he replied. He looked at the young woman in her slick business jacket and attire, changing the subject by asking "does Alex know you're here?"

Now it was her turn to hesitate as she averted her gaze and told him "no. It was a spontaneous decision."

James saw her get uncomfortable around the topic, recalling the last time Kelly was in National City to visit him. It was after he got shot and was put into a coma. Kelly came to help him recover, deal with what lingering trauma from his childhood he had. She was a talented psychologist, specialised in PTSD for soldiers. She was ex-army so had a unique perspective. She didn't know he was Guardian. She would've flipped if she found out how much danger he was actually putting himself in. and as far as she was aware Alex worked for the FBI, her civilian cover story. The two had gotten close and they were on the verge of getting together a few months ago when it just didn't happen. "When was the last time you talked?" he asked her.

She sighed, turning the topic away from her chiding "I didn't come here to talk about Alex. I came to see you."

"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly okay" he said, putting on his charming smile as he gestured to the office and the staff rushing about. "Other than drowning under mountains of paperwork and articles and timesheets… speaking of work, how's the new job at home?"

"With Obsidian? Going very well" she replied, becoming a little more relaxed as she casually scanned the reporters running around. Her gaze briefly fell upon Nia, who was still at her desk but now distracted. James wondered if his sister could tell if Nia was struggling, she'd be in a better position to help. But she could introduce them in order to find out without explaining why she might need help with trauma. My friend's a superhero and she was recently kidnapped and tortured. Maybe you could help? "They're thinking about expanding again, building a north division" Kelly continued, her eyes moving away from Nia not indicating she noticed anything amiss.

"Anywhere in particular?" he asked politely.

"Not sure yet. But the work I'm doing is incredible. The breakthroughs in treating trauma patients alone made it all worth It." she said that with a slightly conflicted expression. James suddenly remembered why she and Alex never got started. Kelly got a new job and she had to move while Alex stayed in National City. Work pulled them apart. "Still, they gave me a few days to come here. I trust you'll have no objection to letting your little sister move in for a week or two?"

James's smile got wider, sitting up enthusiastically saying "that sounds like a…" but then he stopped. He thought about it. Did he really want his sister in the city right now with his secret identity at risk? Jake or the Blacksmith may not have indicated they could come after him or his family, but he couldn't take the chance his helping Kara would put her in danger. "That's…actually, right now may not be the best time" he told her, standing up awkwardly from the sofa.

Kelly blinked in surprise. "I thought you'd be happy" she said, watching her brother suddenly become shifty. She noticed he did that a lot lately whenever she came to visit him. She thought they'd gotten past the wall that had grown between them. "It's just for a few days."

"I know, but it's just…I'm going to be swamped and we won't be able to spend that much time together" he lied.

She scoffed. "I'm a grown woman, I'm sure I can entertain myself." She looked at James suspiciously, asking him "what's going on? Why don't you want me to stay?"

"I do, I'd love it. Just…not right now" he said.

She glanced over his shoulder, the news detailing the rising tensions in the community surrounding the Children of Liberty. "Please don't tell me it's because you're worried for my safety" she sighed. He awkwardly shrugged. She wasn't wrong. Only it wasn't the Children of Liberty he was worried about. She rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself. You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

"Kelly…"

"Look, it's either you give me the keys to your place or I get a hotel" she said bluntly. "Either way, I will not be pushed away by my own brother."

She held out her hand waiting for his answer. Jimmy stared at her before huffing in defeat, pulling out his house keys and putting them into her palm. "I forgot how annoyingly stubborn you can be" he groaned.

She smirked. "We both take after our father" she said. Jimmy nodded in agreement, watching his sister turn and walk out of the office promising to give him a call when she got settled in. he made a silent prayer that he could keep her out of trouble until she went back home. And for once he prayed that Kara's troubles didn't blow back onto him.

The hospital was bustling with activity due to the casualties and victims of the Children of Liberty over the next few days. Some are serious while others were superficial, but the number of patients being brought in hour to hour has kept the staff on edge. They had seen patterns like this before. Everyone was expecting something big. Another tragedy like the city square rally.

Alex could sense the oncoming storm too as she walked through the corridors to visit one of the more critical patients. She used her FBI badge to get an interview, take the statement and passing it on to her people. This man was a shop owner. The hooded thugs threw a Molotov cocktail through his window to set the place on fire. He was trapped inside. he would've died if his neighbours from the street hadn't banded together to rescue him and fight the flames, the fire engine arriving just as one of them pulled him from the smoke. He was lucky to be alive, getting out with only minor burns and heavy smoke inhalation.

Alex had been getting a lot of reports like this. It was comforting to know the city wasn't standing by and letting this happen, not like last time. Ordinary men and women were fighting back against the thugs and the hate. Dreamer's speech inspired a lot of people. And though her fate was still in contention, the divide between supporters to the Sentinel's cause and support for the Alien Amnesty act was getting smaller. She considered putting a call out to the media for any information from the public about the whereabouts of the Children of Liberty. At this rate they'll have they cornered within a week.

Until then she was worried about what they might do in the meantime.

After she finished her rounds in the ER she paid a visit to the wards to check on a patient. She knocked on the door to the private room and was greeted by a nurse making notes in the patient's log. She asked about their condition and she assures her it's improving but they still must wait for them to regain consciousness. It was good news otherwise. Alex thanked her and stepped into the room to stay with the unconscious police captain for a while.

Maggie Sawyer had remained almost comatose since they brought her in. Alex always felt guilty when she checked in with her. It was her fault the woman was at the apartment when it detonated. She kept going over the situation wondering how she could've done things differently. Should she have called on Maggie for help? Should she have dealt with this internally? Should she have just gone to the apartment on her own without Kara? Hindsight brought many excuses or alternatives, but she knew she couldn't change what happened now. They had to move forward.

"We're still trying to nail the bastard responsible for the bomb" she said aloud, talking to the unconscious woman hoping she could hear her. She sighed in frustration. "The people upstairs don't think I have enough to drag him back here to prosecute. But I'm trying. We've just been overwhelmed." She paused to look up at the TV, which she found was tuned to the news broadcasting the Children of Liberty activity. "But then I guess you already know that" she mused.

She walked over to the TV monitor in the corner of the room and unmuted the audio to listen to the news report. "…support for the controversial movement that was previously led by Ben Lockwood, aka the Agent of Liberty, has been on the steady decline following the harrowing broadcast that saw the masked vigilante and superhero known as Dreamer put on trial by the self-proclaimed Sentinel of Liberty for her allegiance to the refugees of National City. The broadcast was interrupted before the hero was put to death and it's since been speculated that she had in fact escaped their captivity rather than perished. Though there have been no public sightings of the superhero following that broadcast, many in the city still hold out hope for her safety."

The new report cut to a series of interviews of people in the street, most human but some alien. "There's no way Dreamer is dead. If she was, I wouldn't believe those bastards in masks wouldn't be gloating about it and dragging her body through the streets. Instead they're hiding like cowards because they no their threats are meaningless" one said.

"We've been living on this planet for over three years now and I've never done anything to harm another living being. None of us have. But as bad as it was when I came here it has gotten better. And part of that goes to Dreamer who demonstrated that aliens and humans can live in peace" said another.

"Supergirl and Dreamer are an inspiration to this city. No matter what they come up against they get back up and keep fighting" a woman reported.

"Not all aliens are evil. We don't all run around blowing up buildings or killing people. But there are people out there who only see what they want to" said another.

"My family and I was at the rally when those Children of Liberty attacked" an alien man explained. "My daughter was almost killed by those monsters. But Dorian found her and saved her and brought her back to us. They gave their life for all of us because they wanted to show the world humans and aliens can live in peace. I never would've met my wife if I hadn't come here. We wouldn't have a family if I had left. So it's in Dorian's name, in their name, that I want to carry on that legacy. I've started a Facebook group for everyone to join and I want us to come out into this city and reclaim the place where he died and show those monsters that we won't run away out of fear. That is not what I want my daughter to learn from all of this. I can dream for a better world too, for her and all the children."

The news channel went on to detail how over two hundred people had already signed up to this group and were organising a march in the city to protest the rise in hate and advocate peace. Alex smiled, a tiny sense of pride in how big a response their simple gamble brought. "Dreamer did well. And she still thinks she's just another superhero" she chuckled, looking back at Maggie. Her expression soured as she quietly acknowledged "I have to admit something, which I hope you don't actually hear.

"A part of my hoped you don't wake up" she confessed, leaning against the end of the bed with shame. "I know it's selfish, but after what you saw, what I know you figured out…for a moment I thought it'd be easier if the bomb killed you. I wouldn't have to worry about you telling anyone about Supergirl, or Dreamer or Guardian, or me. I wouldn't have to worry about how you'd react to finding out how much I lied to you. I wasn't sure you'd understand…Kara's my sister. I had to protect her first.

"But the more I thought about it, the more I realised I need you to get better. You are a good detective, a good captain, we work well together. And it would be good to have someone I can trust in the NCPD to help with this, someone I didn't have to lie to anymore. I just hope you can trust me again. I need you."

She sighed, looking up at the news report again. "I could really use your help right now" she said, crossing her arms in defeat, her back to the woman in the bed listening to her heartbeat on the monitoring machine. She missed the faint flicker of movement in her face as something twitched. "We found the hideout when Supergirl rescued Dreamer, but she couldn't tell us much. There are a lot of them and their working with the Blacksmith, who we know is connected to Jake. But does that mean Jake is working with them now? Is he in charge of the Children of Liberty? We have no way to know. And now they're scattered. They could have another hideout, or they could be on the move. There are at least twenty of them out there, possibly more. And the only lead with have to the Sentinel of Liberty is the Oakridge, but there are too many women with that name in the city to narrow it down."

"Miranda" a voice whispered, interrupting Alex's monologue and whirling her around to the hospital bed.

The red-haired girl stared at the woman as her eyes moved under her eyelids, her mouth twitching as she began to stir. "Holy shit!" she gasped, racing to the door throwing it open. "NURSE! DOCTOR!" she shouted, calling somebody to get in here before rushing to the captains side. "Holy shit" she muttered as she watched Maggie begin to wake up, her eyes attempting to open as her head tilted to look at the director. "Hey! Welcome back" she said, greeting her with a relieved smile. Maggie tried to speak but Alex insisted "don't speak. It's okay. You're in a hospital, the doctors are on their way."

"Oakridge" she croaked, which made Alex shut up and lean closer, pressing her ear to her lips as Maggie Sawyer, gritting her teeth with determination, told the young woman "Miranda Oakridge."