Chapter 22

"This place is certainly exotic." James remarked as he followed Winn around the alien bar.

"I think it's a nice place. But it's interesting that for a place that caters to aliens, it has such great chicken wings." Winn said, guiding James to the table that Kara, Leo and Alex were at.

"Are you sure those are chicken wings?" Kara teased from her place next to Leo.

"That's just mean dear." Leo said. Kara giggled and said Winn walked right into that one.

"I'm not really sure I'm all for this new vigilante in National City." Kara remarked as the group watched a newscast of the recent foiled robbery by guardian.

"What's wrong with guardian?" James asked.

"Nothing wrong with him. I'm just concerned that he might inadvertently start a trend he doesn't mean to. You can tell he doesn't really seem to have powers and is relying on his suit and gear to stop crime and help people. It might send the wrong message that anyone can go out and be a vigilante or hero so long as they have the right gear." Kara remarked.

"What do you think about Guardian, Alex?" Leo asked.

"I don't think Guardian is working alone. He always seems to be one step ahead in his fights. I think he's got some partner backing him up and watching out for him." Alex commented.

"I for one, think his suit is awesome." Winn said.

"I'm not a big fan of the mask or masks in general but I can understand given the whole secret identity thing." Kara added. They were interrupted when a brunette woman appeared at their table.

"Oh, hey Maggie. Guys, this is Maggie Sawyer. She's from the NCPD. I've worked with her for a few cases." Alex introduced.

"Hey Alex, you mind if I speak to you for a little bit in private?" Maggie asked. Alex nodded and the two walked off into a quiet corner of the bar.

"Hey speaking of people, I haven't seen Mon-El around. Any of you have any idea where he is." Winn asked.

"He's probably sleeping over at some girl's place or something." Kara remarked.

"True but I haven't even seen him for a few days now actually. Maybe he found someone more than a casual fling? Or maybe he's having a marathon of one-night stands." Leo supplied.

"I did not need an image of Mon-El having sex. Nor did I need to be reminded on how I stumbled on him and Eve about to get freaky." Kara whined, giving Leo an annoyed look and swatting his chest playfully.

"Well then I guess I'd better make sure to replace that image with something of us then." Leo said suggestively, causing Kara to involuntarily shudder.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that. In fact, I just got something I'm sure you'll like." Kara responded, her voice gaining a seductive edge. Leo was quick to stand with Kara, muttering a quick farewell to James and Winn before rushing out of the bar. James and Winn shared an amused look for a moment before going back to enjoying their food and drinks.

"What's the story? I heard they're saying that guardian killed someone." James said as he walked into Snapper Carr's office.

"We received security footage. Implicating him in the murder of a robber." Snapper said, turning the computer to James and showing the video to him.

"That's not possible. The video clearly shows Guardian walking away." James pointed out.

"Guardian probably came back to finish the job." Snapper Carr said moving to his board.

"Guardian would never do this." James countered.

"That's your bias speaking." snapper Carr retorted, moving from one board to another.

"My bias?" James questioned.

"Yes. Given your close relation with Superman in the past 13 years and then the percentage of front page coverage you've given Supergirl, you're clearly in favor of these vigilantes and believe they can't do wrong." Snapper said. James was done speaking and headed to his office instead where Winn was already waiting for him.

"This bad. You just went from National City's golden hero to public enemy number one in a single night. They're going to find out and then they're going to link you to me and I'll end up in jail for being your accomplice. I can't end up in jail. I won't survive there." Winn started rambling.

"Winn! Calm down. We need to find out whoever did this and clear my name." James said.

"No. We need to stop doing this guardian thing!" Winn countered.

"I will not Winn. Being Guardian is something I believe completely in. Even if that is without you. I'll catch this guy. I'm sure he'll strike again tonight at the wharf when I go to bust the drug dealers there."James said seriously.

"Fine. I'll help you. I know you didn't do it." Winn relented.

"Are you okay there J'onn? Are you still affected by the parasite's attack?" Kara asked as she was heading towards the simulator room. She had noticed Hank meditating and wondered if something was bothering him.

"No. I'm fine. I've just been seeing things since I woke up. Hallucinations of my family. Of the things I've lost. M'gann gave me some martian sick remedy and that has helped me a little bit. I thought meditating might help me calm my mind and get rid of the hallucinations." Hank answered.

"I used to see visions as well when I was younger. In fact I still do from time to time. Sometimes the best way is to talk about them to someone. It's painful but it helps you realize the reality you have to accept. If you ever need anyone to speak too J'onn, we're all willing to help you." Kara offered.

"I'll be fine Kara. I've had far longer than you to come to grips with my loss. And everyone here and my work has been a big part to play in ensuring that." Hank said.

"If you're sure. But if you ever need us, any of us, please, feel free to speak to us." Kara said before heading to the simulation room for some training.

"We've got chatter on Guardian. Police are giving chase. He was at the wharf dealing with drug dealers. All shot dead." Leo said to Kara when he received the alert on his tablet. He and Kara had been enjoying dinner at home when the alert came on the tablet.

"I'll handle this. Is Aunt Astra aware of this?" Kara asked, her suit materializing around her.

"She is. I just told her you had it handled." Leo informed her.

"Great. I'll be back soon. Go pick a movie or something we can watch when I get back." Kara said before flying out of the balcony, following Leo's instructions to where Guardian was. She stopped and clutched her head in pain when she heard a voice invading her mind.

"Hello kryptonian." came Lilian Luthor's voice in Kara's head.

"Cadmus." Kara growled out.

"Got it in one. And do you know why we call ourselves that? Cadmus was the very first greek hero." Lilian said.

"If you think you're a hero, then you're crazier than I thought." Kara said.

"I'm inviting you over. We already have a guest waiting for you. You're Daxamite friend. But if you tell anyone where you're headed, he dies. If you refuse to come, he dies. Come to me Supergirl. But I should warn you. In the myths, Cadmus was really only famous for one thing. He killed monsters." Lilian said before her voice disappeared from Kara's head.

'Leo Cadmus is calling me out.' Kara informed him over their bond.

'Go. Stick to the plan, act natural.' Leo said to her. Kara took off towards the Cadmus facility, crashing into the building through one of the windows. She walked carefully through the facility, making sure that she didn't leave any openings. She reached the stairs and was surprised to see Hank there. She thought it was J'onn in Hank's form but she had her doubts. Doubts which were confirmed when they spoke.

"J'onn? No you're not J'onn. You're Hank Henshaw. What are you doing here?" Kara asked.

"I think the real question is what are you doing here. I should have locked you in that laboratory when I had the chance." Henshaw said, taking slow steps down the stairs.

"You survived? How?" Kara questioned.

"Yes I survived. But that alien. That thing from mars, stole my life. Took everything from me. Cadmus saved me." Henshaw said.

"And now you work for them." Kara noted as the two circled each other preparing for a fight.

"When I ran the DEO, we hunted aliens. Now Cadmus has inherited that glorious purpose. To end alien life on this planet." Henshaw said.

"Good luck with that." Kara taunted before throwing a punch that sent Hank's head tilting to the left.

"My turn." Henshaw said as he didn't show any signs of getting hurt by Kara's attack.

He swung his arm at Kara, hitting her in the face and sending her crashing against the concrete wall. He was quickly in front of her before Kara could recover and flung her at one of the support beams. Hank tried to kick Kara but she deflected the attack and landed a jab on his abdomen, giving her the opening she needed to recover.

Hank swung at Kara but this time Kara sidestepped the attack, grabbing his arm and delivering a strike to Hank's back before throwing him against a wall. Kara used her heat vision to reveal Hank's cyborg eye. Kara swung at Hank but Hank caught her strike and delivered a strong punch to her face, causing her to flinch and stagger. He delivered another strike to her face again that sent Kara to the ground. He followed that up with a strong kick to Kara's midsection that sent her back a good distance against the floor in an unconscious heap.

"Hank Henshaw is dead. I'm cyborg superman." Henshaw said.

"Ugh." Kara groaned as she awoke in a cell after getting beaten by Henshaw. She took in her surroundings and saw Mon-El there.

"Mon-El." Kara said to the Daxamite.

"You okay?" Mon-El asked.

"Now I know how bad guys feel when I pummel them. Yeah, I'm okay." Kara said before getting up and walking around her cell.

"They captured J'onn too." Mon-El remarked.

"That wasn't J'onn. Remember I once told you J'onn assumed the identity of a human? That's the human. Hank Henshaw. Only they enhanced him somehow." Kara said, her hands grabbing hold of the bars of her cell.

"They tricked me." Mon-El muttered as Kara struggled to break the bars.

"The bars are made from Nth Metal form Thanagar. They are unbreakable. So, what is this place? And who are these people?" Mon-El said.

"It's called Cadmus. It's run by scientists who want to wipe aliens off the face of the planet." Kara responded.

"So, what am I like the lucky first contestant?" Mon-El remarked.

"No. They kidnapped you to get to me." Her face bearing a look of realization even though she knew what Cadmus wanted from her.

'Leo, are you there? What are you up to?' Kara said through their bond, feeling Leo's presence somewhere within the facility.

"I am currently preparing to hack all of Cadmus' files and data. Once everything is in place, I just need to hit one button before everything Cadmus has will be ours. Winn helped with this of course. Astra is a little ways out to help you get out of here. I'm starting to hear some chatter. I think Lilian's about to meet you soon. When I give you the signal, you take the first opportunity to bolt, alright?' Leo thought to her.

'I will. But how will you take down Cadmus?' Kara asked.

'I have plans for that. Cadmus wants to treat aliens like monsters. I'll give them monsters. It's going to be one hell of a clean-up job though.' Leo remarked. Kara received glimpses of Leo's idea and while part of her felt it was a little extreme, the rest of her felt that Cadmus, who wanted to use something like Medusa against innocent aliens, was not worth sparing an ounce of mercy for.

"Supergirl. I don't believe we've been introduced." Lilian Luthor said as she entered the room.

"I've seen you before. In Lena Luthor's office. What we're you doing there?" Kara questioned.

"I might ask you the same thing. I don't like the idea of you around my daughter." Lilian said.

"You're Lilian Luthor. Lex and Lena's mother." Kara said.

"I'm a lot of things. A doctor, a patriot, a mother." Lilian remarked casually.

"A liar, a kidnapper, a killer. Does Lena know about that? Does Lena know about Cadmus? Does she know who her mother really is?" Kara added, her voice cracking with rage at the woman in front of her.

"And what are you to my daughter?" Lilian questioned.

"I'm a friend." Kara countered.

"I've heard that before. Years ago Superman came to my son Lex and promised him the world. A new dawn for mankind. Lex believed him, poor thing. Then he watched, as your kinsman affected this country with his propaganda as his power became unchecked. And when Lex tried to take that power back, Superman convinced the world Lex was evil. My darling boy. My genius son. An actual superman behind bars for life because you and your kind will stop at nothing to poison earth." Lilian said.

"You're out of your mind!" Kara exclaimed.

"We'll agree to disagree." Lilian said.

"So, what am I doing here?" Kara questioned.

"I need something from you. I need you to be human for a little while. I know from your fight with red tornado that when you expel enough of your heat vision you deplete the solar radiation in your cells. Leaving you as helpless as any mere mortal. I've designed this helmet to absorb the radiation." Lilian said, taking the helmet passed by one of the guards.

"You want me to solar flare? That's never going to happen." Kara retorted.

"I can't hurt you. But, I can hurt him." Lilian said, taking a gun from the guard and shooting Mon-El with it.

"Mon-El!" Kara shouted in worry.

"We've been studying your friend. He's powerful but has a very bad lead allergy. Say you'll do it and I'll let him live." Lilian taunted, holding the gun in her hand.

'Kara I've got the data. I'm going to move to take the facility down. As soon as you get the chance, get out of here. And no matter what you hear, do not come back.' Leo said through their bond.

'Perfect timing. Lilian wants me to solar flare. She'll probably let her guard down when she thinks I have no more powers.' Kara responded.

"I'll do it." Kara surrendered her expression changing from contemplation to one of concern for Mon-El when Lilian was about to shoot him again. Kara was let out of the cell and Lilian placed the helmet on her head. Kara used her heat vision, the energy causing the electrical systems around the room to fail before she let out a scream of pain at being heard before her heat vision stopped. The helmet was pulled from her head and Kara dropped to the ground. Lilian was about to approach Kara but was surprised when Kara smirked at her.

"You won't be hurting anyone else anymore." Kara taunted before she tapped her suit's crest. Her whole body glowed yellow as the stored yellow sun energy was released, recharging her. Lilian, Mon-El and the rest of the Cadmus agents were forced to shield their eyes as the intensity was too great. Kara used the opportunity to unlock Mon-El cell and fly them both back to the DEO.

"How dare she! You'll get what's coming to you Supergirl!" Lilian growled out. Turning in shock when Hank Henshaw came tumbling through the door groaning in pain.

"You! How did you get here?" Lilian questioned.

Leo stalked towards Hank, placing a foot on the cyborg's chest to keep him pinned down. Leo had another body slung on his shoulder while the Nebulasteam Gun in Rifle mode was in his Right hand. A purple Fullbottle that seemed about to burst was loaded into it. He pointed it at Henshaw and pulled the trigger, steaming coming out and engulfing Henshaw. Henshaw screamed in pain, Leo lifting his foot while the man rolled on the floor before letting out a large scream. Leo pointed the gun at one of the guards, eliciting the same effect from the man. The two went limp before they mutated into silvery creatures, one in the motif of a stag and the other in the motif of a castle.

"You wanted something that would allow you to fight aliens? Well I'm giving them to you. These are Hazard Smash! They'll destroy anything in their path. Of course, that includes all of you here today. Ciao!" Leo taunted as the two Hazard Smash started killing the guard around Lilian.

"But you're supposed to be a hero! Heroes don't kill! And why aren't they attacking you?" Lilian retorted in fear as she was trapped against a wall.

"You think a fish would attack a crocodile? And I'm no hero. I'm Rouge." Leo said before he took out a Nebulasteam Gun that had nothing loaded and fired a cloud of smoke and disappeared.

Leo landed softly with the aid of the Hawk Wings at the DEO. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by Kara, Winn and Astra.

"Where's J'onn and Alex? How's Mon-El?" Leo asked.

"J'onn's been having some issues. He hallucinated about a white martian and nearly attacked an agent. Alex managed to talk him down and is currently running tests on him to try and find out what went wrong." Astra answered.

"Mon-El is recovering. They managed to remove the lead bullet from his leg. He should on his feet in no time." Kara said.

"Who's that? Someone from Cadmus?" Winn asked gesturing to the hooded figure Leo had slung over his shoulder. Leo got down on his knee and moved the man into his arms, pushing back the hood to reveal Jeremiah Danvers face.

"Jeremiah! He's really alive! How did you find him? And why did you knock him out?" Kara questioned.

"What's going on?" Alex asked as she and Hank joined them.

"Is that Jeremiah Danvers? But how?" Hank questioned.

"Cadmus rescued him. There's a lot we need to share about Cadmus. All the data for you is here. Including all Cadmus facilities. Might want to get strike teams out to take them down." Leo said, tossing a flash drive to win.

"We should get him some medical attention!" Alex exclaimed, trying her best to keep her emotions in check. A team of agents moved Jeremiah to the infirmary so they could examine him.

"I need to head back out there. The hazard smash would have broken out of Cadmus by now. We can speak about this later. Just remember this. The Jeremiah Danvers I brought back, is not the same Jeremiah that died that day. Cadmus has done things to him and made him do things that would change anyone." Leo said, before rushing out the balcony towards the Cadmus Facility. When he landed there, the two hazard smash were already out and slowly making their way towards the city. Leo drew their attention moving his head side to side before making a 'come at me gesture' to the two smash.

"Is he awake yet?" Leo asked when he entered the infirmary after dealing with the Hazard Smash.

"Not yet. Agent Schott's been looking through the Cadmus files. I'm having put together a list of targets in order of the size and importance of the facilities to Cadmus operations. I'll review the list and have strike teams raiding them soon." Hank informed.

"Did you manage to move on to the other files? The ones I got of both Jeremiah and of the original Hank Henshaw?" Leo asked.

"We did. Cadmus is sick. I can't believe they did this to him. I want in on those raids J'onn." Alex said, referring to the cybernetic augmentation that Jeremiah had gone through. They continued discussing Cadmus and all the information they had found on the organization before a strangled gasp from Jeremiah caught their attention. Jeremiah immediately sat up on the bed and took in his surroundings.

"Dad. You're safe. You're at the DEO now." Alex said, soothing Jeremiah and preventing him from struggling.

"What happened? I remember walking around the Cadmus Facility then two glowing blue orbs then now I'm here." Jeremiah said, rubbing his head to try and recall what had occurred.

"That would be my fault sorry. I knocked you out while I was taking down Cadmus. I couldn't risk you or your cybernetic implants causing problems." Leo said.

"Cadmus? What happened to Cadmus? To Luthor? To Henshaw?" Jeremiah asked.

"They are all dead. I made sure of it. Cadmus is no more. All that's left is to get rid of their facilities and make sure to tie up all the loose ends." Leo answered.

"That's a relief. J'onn, it's good to see you again. It's weird to see you wearing Hank's skin though. Kara and Alex, both of you have grown so much. And I'm sorry but I don't know who the rest of you are." Jeremiah said.

"I'm Leo Titus. You might know me for my alter ego, Build. I'm also Kara's husband." Leo introduced.

"I'm Astra In-Ze. I'm Kara's aunt from krypton. Thank you for taking such good care of my niece and helping raise her to become such an amazing woman." Astra said, introducing herself to Jeremiah.

"I'm surprised that another kryptonian survived. When did you crash land here? And how come now after so long? And I hope you take good care of Kara. I don't really know you. But I know Kara and I trust her decision. But if you hurt her, not even being Build will save you." Jeremiah warned.

"Dad! That's not necessary! Leo's the best husband a girl could ever ask for." Kara said, pressing herself into Leo's side.

"I think we can get to knowing each other better at another time. How did you survive?" Hank asked.

"I don't really remember. It was mostly a blur. I remember being moved to a Cadmus Facility where they kept me alive and did things to me so I could save Henshaw. I kept trying to run at first. Then they threatened Alex and Kara. That's when I stopped running and had to cooperate with their operations." Jeremiah said.

"Your cybernetic enhancements. Yet despite all that, you still tried to curb Cadmus. Project Exodus." Leo pointed out.

"I tried my best to mitigate Cadmus' activities. It didn't always work. Project Exodus was as peaceful a compromise I could reach with Luthor. If she failed to obtain the Medusa virus, then we would somehow get access to the alien registry information. After that we would kidnap the aliens and forcibly deport them." Jeremiah said.

"So, what will you be doing now? I would like to have you at the DEO again. It would be great to have you with us." Hank offered.

"If you don't mind J'onn, I'd like to delay that offer indefinitely. I've been gone a long time. Doing things I've never wanted to do. So much has changed. I'd like the chance to come to grips with these changes. I want to take a step back, to get to know the people I care about again." Jeremiah said.

"You can stay with me at my apartment Dad. I have room for you. We can hang out after work. Kara can come and drag Leo and her aunt along." Alex offered.

"Thank you, Alex. But I think I need to reconnect with Eliza first. If it's alright with all of you, I'd like to return to Midvale. But if any of you ever need my help for anything, I will be more than happy to help." Jeremiah said.

"We'll take you home then dad and give you time alone with mom." Kara offered. Jeremiah thanked her for the offer and lay back down on the bed, his eyes open and staring at the wall pondering about what he had learnt.

"Alex, if you don't mind, I'd like to look over the results of the test now." Hank said quietly to Ales.

"I'll see you again later Jeremiah. I need to look over some things." Hank said to Jeremiah. Alex told her dad she would see him later as well before following after Hank. They entered the lab where the tests had been conducted and Alex studied the results.

"You were right. There is something off about you now. These aren't simple hallucinations like you said. There's anomalies in your blood." Alex said, handing the results to Hank.

"I need some time alone. Let me know if anything requires my attention." Hank said, placing the results on the table before rushing out of the room and out of the DEO building. Alex sighed and hoped that Hank would be alright. She walked out of the lab and watched the screen displaying Maggie announcing to press on the labeling of Guardian as a murderer. She was about to walk back and see if Jeremiah was alright when she was interrupted by Winn.

"Hey Alex, I think you need to tell you're cop friend to lay off Guardian." Winn suggested.

"Why? Guardian's a murderer. He's killed people Winn." Alex countered.

"It's just that I'm a big supporter of the vigilante movement and I feel that Guardian isn't the one who was responsible for those murders. I think it was someone else." Winn said. Alex rounded on Winn, pushing him into a corner and pinning him to the wall by his neck.

"You know something about Guardian. Now, spill before I make you spill." Alex threatened.

"Alright, alright. It's James. Guardian is James!" Winn admitted. Alex let him go and processed the information.

"You're his accomplice aren't you?" Alex questioned, despite already knowing the answer.

"Kara won't be happy about this. I'll talk to Maggie about this but I make no promises. You and James need to figure out who is killing those criminals and put a stop to them." Alex warned before walking away to give Maggie a call. She told Maggie over the phone to drop the Guardian case, a conversation that quickly devolved into Alex releasing how hurt she was at Maggie. She ended the call and decided to focus on her father for now, not wanting to deal with anything else at the moment.

"Alex what brings you here? Thanksgiving is still two weeks away." Eliza remarked when she opened the door.

"It's actually some good news. Well it's not about me but, there's someone you need to meet." Alex said, guiding her mother to the car where Leo, Kara and Jeremiah were.

"Oh my god! Jeremiah, is that really you?" Eliza asked, walking up to her husband and giving his shoulder a squeeze to ensure this was all real.

"It is. It's been a long time Eliza." Jeremiah admitted.

"But how? They said you had died protecting the current Hank?" Eliza asked.

"I technically did Eliza. Cadmus, they took me away and revived me. Did things to me. Made me do things that I am ashamed of. I'm not the same man Eliza." Jeremiah admitted.

"You being alive is a miracle enough. And I know you Jeremiah, you have no reason to be ashamed of acts you were forced to commit. But you are right. The two of us are not the same. But we can take the time to get to know each other again." Eliza said.

"I couldn't agree more. J'onn actually offered me a place at the DEO. But I told him I needed time away from it all. To heal. I though back home would be a nice place to start." Jeremiah said.

"Please come in all of you." Eliza said.

"I'm sorry but we need to get going back to National City. Something urgent has propped up." Leo said after receiving an alert from his phone.

"Duty calls. Go save people. All of you." Jeremiah said.

"We'll try and visit when we can dad. All of us." Alex said, Kara nodding in agreement at the statement.

"We can catch up during thanksgiving. No need to rush. I'm going to take things slow." Jeremiah said. The three waved goodbye before driving off. Jeremiah turned and followed his wife into the home, listening to her share stories of all the times he had missed.

"Pizza and potstickers!" Leo announced when he and James entered the apartment. Their arms were full of packs of food and stacks of Pizza.

"Yes!" Kara exclaimed, rushing over and taking a stack of three pies from Leo for herself. She quickly settled into the couch and digging into the first pie. Leo chuckled and took a seat next to her, opening a pack of potstickers and shoving one in his mouth. He playfully waved one in front of Kara and she opened her mouth, letting him feed her the potsticker. They heard the door open and saw Alex walking.

"You seem troubled and happy at the same time. What's going on?" Kara asked her sister.

"Maggie and I have managed to work out our differences and give the idea of 'us' a chance. And while that's good news, I can't help but worry about J'onn and M'gann." Alex said, plopping herself down next to Kara.

"I think J'onn's more hurt than actually angry at M'gann about lying. He needs time. I just hope he can forgive M'gann eventually. I mean she did lie about being a green martian, but when we needed her to save J'onn, she came through." Leo said.

"While I think honesty from M'gann, especially in J'onn's case would have been the right way, you can't blame her for wanting to stay incognito. It isn't easy to have to live with the stigma that your race is incapable of anything but violence and murder. I just hope J'onn can forgive her with time." Kara said.

"Speaking of violence and murder. Guardian managed to clear his name. Turns out someone else was taking the law into his own hands and executing criminals who got away on technicalities." Winn brought up.

"I guess Guardian's okay. I'm still not 100% okay with him but if he's out there to do good and strongly believes in doing it, then I can't stop him." Kara admitted.

"I think it's time we had some fun instead of talking about work and news. I'll get the games out!" Leo exclaimed, getting out from the couch and returning later with a stack of board games for the group to play.

"This is a really nice place you have Kara." Jeremiah remarked when he and Eliza entered the apartment, taking in the surroundings.

"Thanks. Make yourselves at home." Kara said, handing her parents champagne and motioning to the couch. Leo joined them soon after, taking his place next to Kara and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"So how did you and Kara meet exactly?" Jeremiah asked Leo.

"Our first date was a blind date actually. At the time, I was going through quite a stage of depression working on Project Build. Nothing I did was really working so I thought I needed a break. The first time I met Kara was when she was a waitress. I wasn't expecting to be matched for a blind date with the prettiest woman I had ever laid eyes on. We spoke about ourselves and the first date became the second and so on." Leo said, recalling his first meeting with Kara and their subsequent blind date.

"And when you first met her did you actually know who she was? Did you know she was an alien?" Jeremiah questioned.

"I knew that you had adopted a kryptonian, but I had never known that she was the same one. It never really came up. When I found out her name and spoke to Alex, it was when I found out about Kara being Kryptonian. I decided to give 'us' a try though and now nearly three years later, here we are." Leo said.

"I've never seen Kara so happy, or feel at home here on earth. Despite all we did, I always knew Kara felt like she didn't belong. Like she didn't fit in. I could tell that deep down, it bothered her. Looking at her now, she's finally found a place. And that place is with you. Thank you for making her happy. Welcome to the family." Jeremiah said with a smile. Alex walked in together with Astra and Maggie.

"You must be Astra. Kara's aunt. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along. It's nice to know that Kara still has blood family around." Jeremiah said.

"I'm not deserving of such from the man who helped raise my niece after all I've done. I should be thanking you for raising Kara so well." Astra admitted.

"Nonsense. What you did in the past and on Krypton is just that. It's the past. We all make mistakes and do wrong sometimes while standing up for what we believe in. it's about being able to admit that and then change to become a better person to do the right thing." Jeremiah said, reassuring Astra that he held no animosity for her past actions now that she had turned a new leaf.

"And who is this Alex?" Jeremiah asked. Eliza had a curious look as well. Alex took a deep breath and prepared to explaining, mentally preparing herself for the fallout.

"This is Maggie. She's my girlfriend. She's also been the one to help me realize that all this time the reason why I could get with a guy was because I was never interested in them. She helped me understand the feelings I had and also opened my eyes to the fact that she wasn't the first girl I've been attracted to." Alex explained, wrapping and arms around Maggie and pulling her close. There was a moment of tense silence.

"I always said no man would ever be good enough for Alex Danvers. It took an amazing woman to sweep my daughter off her feet." Jeremiah remarked.

"What your father is trying to say is that we're not disappointed with you being gay. In fact we're happy that you've found happiness Alex." Eliza said.

"I'm proud of you girls. You've done amazing things in your life. I'm also certain that you will continue to do so with the help of those close to you. While it does hurt that I wasn't able to be with you through all the things that have occurred in the past, I promise that I'll be here for you girls if you ever need me." Jeremiah said.

"Speaking of which, are you coming back to the DEO?" Alex asked.

"I think not in the immediate future. I like the quiet time I spend with your mother. And while I'm more than willing to help out, I don't think I'm ready to commit my life to it just yet or maybe even anymore." Jeremiah answered. There was a knock on the door before J'onn entered the apartment.

"Sorry I'm late. I hope I didn't miss much." Hank said.

"You're just in time." Leo responded when the oven bell rang. The group settled down for dinner, sharing what they were thankful for before enjoying the food. After dinner, they settled down once more at the couch sharing stories and telling jokes.

"Hey J'onn do mind coming out to the balcony for a moment so I can talk to you in private?" Jeremiah asked. Hank nodded and followed after him.

"I heard about M'gann from Alex. How are you doing?" Jeremiah asked.

"I'm fine. M'gann is locked away now. She won't hurt anyone." Hank said, his body trembling from a mix of emotions that Jeremiah couldn't fully identify.

"Is she really the one doing the hurting? Think about it J'onn. She came here seeking refuge just like you. And while her people may not be gone, she isn't really part of them, is she? Is it really fair to treat her that way? Do you remember how Henshaw wanted you killed? How I saw that you were a refugee and deserved a chance? Don't you think it's time you repaid that kindness by giving others the same chance?" Jeremiah advised.

"She lied about being a green martian! She's a white martian! Her kind knows nothing but violence and murder! Her blood is causing me problems and might turn me into a monster!" J'onn countered.

"Are you not judging the tree for the forest now J'onn? Alex told me about her. She hasn't done anything to hurt anyone. She just tried to make an honest living here. She may have lied about being a white martian but you were living the life of Henshaw for years. Her blood might be turning you into a monster but it is also the same blood that saved your life from the parasite. I know about it all J'onn. I've been talking to Alex about her time at the DEO and about you as well. This isn't you J'onn. Don't let your prejudice for white martians blind you to what counts in judging someone." Jeremiah said before walking out from the balcony and going back inside to join his family.