"Hey Kara." Maggie said opening Alex's apartment door. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
"Why? Is Alex okay?"
"See for yourself." Maggie said stepping to one side.
"Hey." Kara greeted her sister as she entered the apartment where Alex was sitting on the couch looking bored.
"Tell me you have a case." Alex pleaded.
"You are meant to be resting." Kara pointed out.
"Despite all her degrees she hasn't figure out how." Maggie smiled.
"I am so bored." Alex complained before noticing Kara was nervously fidgeting with her hands. Causing her to ask. "What's wrong?"
"I have something to tell you and I need you not to freak out." Kara said sitting opposite her sister.
"What have you done?" Alex asked.
"Nothing yet, well not really. But Snapper has given me the opportunity to work on a really big story."
"That's great." Maggie smiled.
"Why would that freak me out?" Alex asked.
"To work on the story I've needed to do something and I may have to go a way for awhile and join a kind of political group as a reporter."
"Go where?" Alex asked.
"The group travels round."
"I'm coming with you." Alex immediately said.
"No you're not. You need to rest and heal. And this is my career, I need to do this by myself."
"What's the story?" Alex asked, clearly not believing Kara.
"Just looking at the rise of new political groups." Kara said trying to look innocent. Seeing Alex's sceptical look she offered. "Want me to get a note from Snapper?"
"I want you to tell me what you are hiding." Alex said.
"Fine, the group is kind of right winged and hates aliens."
"And you don't see a problem with you, an alien, going?" Alex asked eyes wide.
"Well it is not like I could tell Snapper that is it?" Kara pointed out. "But I'll be fine, thanks to the article and me getting fired we have a good cover story-"
"Cover story? You're a reporter not a cop." Alex said unimpressed with what she was hearing before her brain finally caught up with her ears. "What article? You've been fired?"
"Tell me you're not following this either." Maggie said equally lost.
"For this to work I need people to believe I hate aliens and based on my previous stories I don't exactly have that reputation. So, well, I wrote a kind of scathing article on Supergirl. After it gets published tomorrow morning there will be a backlash and Supergirl is going to get me fired. And then people will believe I have a reason to hate aliens." Kara explained.
For a minute Alex sat staring silently at Kara before eventually saying. "That's it, you are coming back to the DEO, clearly the Narth fried your brain somehow."
"I'm not mad. This is something I want to do, I need to do. I have though this through. I am not rushing into anything. And I am doing this. I just don't want you to freak out when you see the headlines tomorrow."
"Yeah, because that's the part of the plan that will freak me out." Alex said sarcastically.
"If the article doesn't do it's job I won't be going anywhere." Kara pointed out. "I have to go, there's a lot of sirens going. I'll see you later."
After she had flown out of the window Alex turned to Maggie and asked.
"You heard that as well right?"
"I did." Maggie said. "But she seemed pretty determined. And unless they have Kryptonite she should be safe right?"
"Except there is Kryptonite out there remember?" Alex said.
"Which Winn is scanning for, so she will have a whole army protecting her."
"I really don't like this, but I get the feeling if I yell at her she'll go off and do it anyway." Alex said frustrated.
-00-
"Kara? Are you okay?" Lena asked when Kara entered her office a few days later.
"Yeah, no. I honestly don't know anymore." Kara replied truthfully.
"From the article you wrote destroying your own reputation I would go with no." Lena said glancing at the CatCo magazine on her desk.
"Nothing I wrote wasn't true." Kara said.
"Maybe, but it wasn't exactly a balanced article. To write with that much self-loathing is ...well I'm worried about you."
"You don't need to worry. The article was part of a plan."
"A plan?" Lena asked.
"I need the world to believe I have turned on Supergirl."
"Why?"
"So I can get fired and work on a new story."
"If you're fired why would you be working on a story?" Lena asked confused.
"I won't really be fired, but as far as the world is concerned I will be. And that's why I'm here, I wanted to tell you, in person, I'm leaving. Not forever, just a few weeks. So I can work this story and I don't want you to worry."
"Sounds interesting." Lena said cautiously. "What's the story?"
"Anti-alien cults." Kara said. For a moment Lena was too stunned to say anything. Eventually though she asked.
"Is that wise? If they discover who you are won't that put you in danger?"
"I won't give them reason to suspect me. I'm just going to be naive and impressionable Kara Danvers who has just lost her job because of Supergirl."
"Why?" Lena asked.
"Why what?"
"Why go after these cults? There must be plenty of stories you could pursue outside of the city. But you pick the one most dangerous to you."
"A woman wrote to me begging for my help because her daughter had joined one of these cults, maybe I can find her."
"It could be a trap." Lena pointed out.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take."
"Is that the only reason?"
"There's a chance these cults are linked to Cadmus. If they are maybe I can find Jeremiah."
"So your sister is going with you?"
"No, I don't want to build her hopes up, plus she is meant to be resting."
"But you are telling her?" Lena asked.
"She knows I'm leaving the city for awhile." Kara said hiding the fact Alex didn't know the full story. "Anyway I don't want to keep you I just didn't want you to worry when I don't call for a while."
"Kara wait." Lena called moving over to her wall safe, which she opened as she explained. "Do you remember my alien detection unit? The one you burnt through."
"Um, yes." Kara said looking embarrassed as Lena took something from the safe.
"As part of the system tests we had to discover bugs in the system to make it as accurate as possible. False positives are a lawsuit waiting to happen. During the test we discovered some small flaws that allowed alien DNA to go undetected, without the need to fry the entire system. Obviously we fixed the bugs, or most of them. A couple remain that no one knows about. I won't bore you with the details, but this ring will help you fool a detector." Just make sure you use the hand it is on with the machine."
"Thank you." Kara said gratefully.
-00-
"You're really doing this?" Alex asked when she entered Kara's apartment and saw two packed bags.
"I am."
"Why? I don't understand. National City is huge and there are plenty of big stories."
"You really want the truth?" Kara asked.
"I do. You know you can tell me anything."
"The truth is I feel lost. I don't know what I'm doing or what I want to do. I just feel so rushed the whole time it is like I never have a chance to stop and reflect. This story gives me a chance to concentrate on reporting for awhile and to find my feet and lets me do something good as Kara."
"What about Supergirl duties?"
"I was hoping you could persuade J'onn to fill in for me as least for a few days so we don't disappear at the same time." Kara said hopefully.
"What else aren't you telling me?" Alex asked knowing Kara was hiding something.
"If I get accepted into the inner circle I will have to be without my phone for a few weeks."
"I don't like this Kara."
"I know you've lost faith in me and I get that-"
"Kara I have not lost faith in you. There is no one in this world I trust more." Alex said squeezing her hand. "But I am your sister and I will always worry about you. You have nothing to prove so why are you putting yourself in danger?"
"I need time to figure out who I am. I can't do that here. I know it is risky, but this gives me the chance to find myself. Please support me on this."
"What happens if you get into trouble? What if they are the ones with the Kryptonite?" Alex asked.
"I have one of Kal's watches." Kara said holding out her wrist. "If I need help I can get it. I know you are worried, but I need to do something by myself. It's time for me to break free and become independent. I need to prove I can do it."
"I really don't want you to go." Alex said. "But I also know how miserable you are right now and if you think this will help I won't stop you. But Kara I need you so you had better come back in one piece okay?" She said before hugging her.
TBC...
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing.
