"You okay?" Kara asked her sister.
"Just waiting for a call from NCPD." Alex said.
"Why?"
"They are deciding what charges to press and against who." Alex said as Vasquez approached them. "No matter what they do they will all be back on the street tonight."
"Do you want me to keep an eye on Kara?" Supergirl asked.
"Thanks but no. She has detention and then is grounded and in-between has a therapy session, so I am picking them up from school. I just hate the fact that the people who did this are getting off lightly as they are kids. Kids with rich parents so they are all lawyered up and I can't get access. So I have no idea if Holtz did this out of revenge or because he was told to."
"We'll figure it out." Supergirl assured her. "And without you ending up in prison."
"All tests have come back negative, we can enter the ship." Vasquez said from the doorway.
"About time. Let's go." Alex said as she stood and walked to the command room where several screens were showing feeds form cameras looking at the ship.
"You sure you don't want me down there?" Supergirl asked.
"It's fine." Alex said before nodding at one of her team who sent a message to the desert base. Moments later a group in biohazard suits surrounded the ship and worked on getting it open.
As the door opened there was a hissing sound as there was an air exchange.
"Get a reading on those gases we don't want to accidentally kill whoever is in there." Alex said.
"Yes Ma'am." Knepp said. After a moment she reported. "Content is similar to Earth's, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Okay. Send in the team." Alex ordered.
"Sure you don't want me in there?" Supergirl asked.
"These guys need the practice." Alex said. "It's been awhile since they entered a literal alien environment. But don't go anywhere, just in case."
"Team one is ready." Knepp said interrupting them.
"Send them in." Alex said watching the screens as a team of four entered the ship.
"This has the makings of a perfect horror movie." Supergirl said.
"Thanks for that." Alex said sarcastically moments before the team checked in.
"Nothing so far." Matsuo said over the radio.
"The vents." Supergirl said.
"What about them?" Alex asked looking closer to the screen.
"That's where it would be hiding." Supergirl said.
"What would?" Alex asked.
"The thing that killed the crew."
"You have to stop watching so much TV." Alex said as she watched the team enter the control room.
"Got something." Matsuo reported. "Body. It looks dead. Very, very dead."
"I'm telling you, check the ventilation shafts." Supergirl said.
"Fine." Alex said picking up the radio. "Matsuo, please check the ventilation shafts."
"For anything in particular?" He asked.
"Space vampires." Supergirl whispered to Alex.
"Anything out of the ordinary." Alex said before adding. "Any idea what killed the pilot?"
"Nothing obvious, but I have no idea what species this is."
"Collect samples." Alex said. "But you are stuck in quarantine until we have ruled out pathogens."
"Understood." Matsuo said as one of his team started to look in the ventilation shafts.
"No more TV." Alex said turning to her sister.
"What if they find something?" Supergirl asked.
"They won't." Alex said. "But if they find a space vampire I will buy you dinner."
"Ma'am." Rose said approaching Supergirl. "I found something you may be interested in."
"What?" Supergirl asked turning.
"We looked at the list of miss metas you found and we found they had something in common."
"What?"
"Because they were heroes that had to take out hero insurance. To get that insurance you have to provide a bank account, which effectively removes their secret identity."
"So insurance acted as a register?" Supergirl asked.
"Yes ma'am."
"So if they all had the same provider that is how who ever took them found them?" Supergirl asked.
"That's what we thought. Only there is no common provider. That said like with any insurance you change providers to get the best deals and some of them had used several companies. So we expanded the net to cover past policies. And we found a link. Not through one company though. It turns out six companies are underwritten by the same institution. That institution is part owned by a company that is owned by Stagg."
"What aren't you telling us?" Alex said noticing the hesitation in her subordinate.
"Having found the link we may have dug through the records a little further." Rose said.
"And?" Alex asked.
"Across America over 1000 hero policies have been taken out with those companies in the last ten years. Taking out people switching that equates to 327 metas. 131 of them are currently missing."
"131?" Supergirl asked eyes wide.
"Yes ma'am. At least that is what we have found so far. We will keep looking."
"Good work." Alex said as Vasquez called.
"They have something."
"What?" Alex asked.
"They found the log. It is a video log." Vasquez said. "Currently we can't translate it, but we are hoping we can narrow down species."
-00-
"Everything okay?" Kara asked as she retuned home and saw her daughter lying on the couch.
"Sure." The teen said unenthusiastically.
"Very convincing."
"Martin is hanging with Steve, Kara and MJ are in detention, I finished my homework and I may have tired Chewie out. So I am really bored." The teen said.
"Well I am sure we can sort that." Kara said.
"How?"
"Let's play Go."
"I thought you didn't like games where your powers don't bring you a benefit?" The teen said.
"Only when I am playing against your aunt." Kara said. "So how about it?"
"I think I'll pass."
"Okay, well seeing the weekend is coming up. Do you want to do anything? We could plan it now."
"I can't."
"Okay, I'm confused." Kara said.
"Why?"
"When you were exposed to Red-K you told me that I had been neglecting you. And yet every time I have tried to spend time with you recently you have brushed me off."
"You don't have to spend time with me."
"I'm trying to spend time with you because I want to." Kara said. "But it just feels like you don't want to."
"That's not it."
"Then what?"
"You have seemed really stressed recently. I don't want to add to that."
"If I had to drop something because I was feeling stressed. The last thing that would be is you." Kara said. "So why don't we do something this weekend?"
"I can't. Lena said she'd give me a game of chess in the morning." Alex said before adding. "But if you want we can do something after that?"
"Sounds great." Kara said.
"But what about Supergirl stuff?" The teenager said.
"J'onn can cover for me."
-00-
"So you found out who your father was and where he was from, but since then you've asked no questions." Lena said as she played chess with the teenage Alex.
"So?"
"This strange lack of curiosity doesn't seem like you. Is that because you don't want to know?" Lena probed.
"Sure."
"Want to know what I think?" Lena pressed.
"Is this one of those times I don't get a choice?" The teenager asked.
"Very perceptive." Lena said. "When your mother was in the lab not waking up you said she had looked really sad and in pain. I think you are worried asking your mother questions is going to make her sad. Am I right?"
"Maybe."
"That is why I will win in three." Lena said moving another piece as Alex frowned at the chess board before moving a piece.
"But I also know that your mother will not want you worrying about her and she definitely won't want you hiding anything, including questions." Lena said moving a piece.
"Maybe." Alex said moving her piece.
"And that's checkmate." Lena said moving a piece.
"So what is the other reason about your complete lack of curiosity?"
"Other reason?" Alex asked.
"Don't play dumb." Lena said. "I can read you easily. Which is why I keep winning. So what is the other reason you don't want to know."
"What if I don't like what I find? They had mom tortured. What if I am like them?"
"You and I aren't that dissimilar." Lena said. "My mother was a good person. My father not so much, and that is a huge understatement. My adoptive mother and brother were even worse. Lex would happily commit genocide if he thought it would help his cause. For a long time I felt that the evil that ran through him ran through me. That it was in my blood. I let that fear guide my actions and I did things I am not proud of. But your mother only saw the good. And after a while, a long while, when I did some really bad things, I started to believe your mother. If I can be raised by the Luthors and come out okay, you will have no problem." She added. "And for you to suggest you would be anything other than good based solely on the actions of your paternal grandparents then you are basically telling me that I a rotten to the core. Are you saying that?"
"No." The teenager said.
"There you go." Lena replied as she started to reset the chess board. As she did so the teenager asked.
"Were you right?" The teenager asked.
"Right about what?"
"The planet you found, that you thought my father was from. Was it the right one?"
"I don't know. I didn't check. Do you want to find out?"
"Yes."
"Okay, well we have an hour before meeting your mom. Let's go to the lab."
-00-
"What's going on?" Kara asked when she entered Lena's lab. "I thought you were playing chess."
"We were." Lena said. "But Alex asked to see if I had been right about the planet."
"Planet?" Kara asked.
"That her father was from." Lena said.
"Oh." Kara said.
"Thank you for the game." Lena said to Alex. "You can boost my confidence anytime." She added getting an eyeroll from the teenager. "I will see you two later." She added.
"See you later." Kara smiled as she led her daughter out of the lab.
"Why didn't you tell me you were interested in finding out more?" Kara asked as they rode the elevator to the surface.
"I'm not. I wanted to know if Lena was right." Alex said. "She was."
"Well, Lena is really smart." Kara said as they walked through the car park.
"Mom?"
"Yes."
"You don't need to worry about me."
"That's not how this works." Kara said. "I will always worry about you. And I will worry about you more if you hide things. So you telling me things will actually make me worry less."
"No it won't." The teen said not buying the logic.
"So what do you want to do?" Kara asked.
"How about the art gallery on third?"
"You want to go to an art gallery?" Kara asked.
"You like painting." Her daughter pointed out.
-00-
As Kara and her daughter stood in the gallery looking at a piece of canvas with dots and streaks her daughter said.
"I don't get it."
"Yeah, me neither." Kara agreed.
"No I mean out of all the planets I have been to Earth is the only one where randomly splashing paint at a canvas counts as art. Or is this the whole give everybody a prize thing they do over here. Which is also weird."
"Prizes are nice." Kara countered.
"Only if you earn them." Alex said as they moved onto the next piece of modern art. "And this one so doesn't deserve a prize. Earth art is so weird."
"Perhaps we should stick to the classics." Kara suggested as they walked past the painting.
"How come you don't paint anymore?" The teenager asked.
"I just haven't had time." Kara said. "Besides when I first started painting it was to help me get use to my powers as much as anything."
"Did you ever try this type of art?"
"No. Not sure it'd give me a sense of achievement." Kara said before a picture caught her eye. "Wait, that one there looks familiar." Kara said. "It's just like the picture you did when you were, what, five?"
"I feel really insulted right now." Alex said.
"Excuse me." A woman said approaching the pair. "We are about to start a guided tour would you like to join us?"
"Um, thank you, but no, we were just, um, leaving." Kara said.
"Next time then." The woman smiled.
"Yes." Kara said as she and Alex hurried from the room.
-00-
"So was Lena right?" Kara asked when they were sitting in a restaurant.
"Yes."
"Kal came here as a baby and has always wanted to know more about Krypton and where he was from. So you wanting to know more isn't going to freak me out." Kara said.
"I don't want to know more." Alex said.
"You don't?"
"You said that you discovered things about your father that you wished you hadn't known. Like the Medusa virus." The teenager said.
"Yes." Kara confirmed.
"Right now I know what you told me about him. And he sounds pretty nice. If I look for more I may not like what I find."
"What about your powers?"
"What about them?"
"Your father's family may be able to help."
"Or not. I mean I am probably the only half Kryptonian half Dakran, or Dakranian? out there. Besides J'onn is helping and so kind of is MJ, in his own way, and so are you."