"I'm losing faith, it doesn't make sense." Kara said.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked looking over at her sister.
"We think Metas are being kidnapped and being used in an illegal fight club right? But if that is the case there will be casualties. Many probably leading to death as I doubt Stagg will have taken out medical insurance. So where are the bodies? Even if there aren't bodies so many metas have gone missing. I mean this many people where do you hide them? Do you think they are being transported off world or are they here?"
"If they are here, you are right, chances are not all of them make it. So maybe our best bet is to find the bodies. But there are plenty of places to dispose of bodies. I can get Harris to start looking at patterns of life in the desert areas. Maybe it will turn up something. If not we can expand our search of missing Metas." Alex said.
"How are we going to investigate without telling Kendell?"
"I don't know. But that's my problem." Alex said.
"What's happening with Holtz?"
"Gone to ground. The family own another home out of the city, they are laying low there. But NCPD did raid the house and got into the safe. But as expected it was empty."
"So what are you going to do?" Kara asked.
"I don't know. I mean I know what I want to do, but if I did that the case would fall apart and Kara's attackers will be able to roam around free." She said as Vasquez approached. "We have the autopsy results."
"And?" Alex asked.
"It appears the alien died of natural causes."
"So they were all alone in that ship when they died?" Supergirl asked.
"There were no space vampires if that is what you mean." Vasquez said.
"No, I meant that alien set off on a journey by themselves. According to the logs they were in the ship for six months and then they just died, completely alone. It's kind of sad." Supergirl said.
"Do you want to hold a service for it?" Alex offered seeing how much her sister was empathising with the deceased.
"Can we?" Kara asked.
"Sure." Alex said, not entirely sure what they would say.
-00-
"Kids are at mine doing homework." Kara said that evening.
"Not that I am complaining, but when did your place become the hang out?" Alex asked.
"Since you scared Martin and Diz."
"I didn't threaten Martin. Why is he scared of me?"
"Common sense?" Kara asked causing Alex to throw a cushion at her.
"Wait, is Diz at your place?" Alex asked.
"Yes, Alex is helping him with Calculus again."
"But he is at your place, with Kara?"
"And MJ and Alex and Martin." Kara said. "Will you relax, they are fine."
"Which you are going to confirm with your superhearing." Alex said.
"No I'm not." Kara said as her sister glared at her causing her to sigh. "Fine. They're fine." Kara said.
"Did you really listen?" Alex asked.
"They are fine." Kara repeated.
"Your powers are wasted on you." Alex complained before asking. "How are you doing?"
"Fine."
"I know you can't go from panic attacks to fine just like that." Alex reminded her.
"I don't know why I started to feel so broken. But I'm okay." Kara assured her.
"You don't know what made you feel broken?" Alex asked her voice full of doubt.
"I mean I do. I just don't know why that day sent me over the edge and that scares me. But right now I feel in control."
"The second you don't feel in control you let me know." Alex said.
"I will. I promise." Her sister said before asking. "How's Kara doing?"
"Well she is talking to the shrink so that's progress."
"And you?"
"Me what?"
"Are you talking to the shrink?"
"I've had a session." Alex said before turning the focus back on Kara. "You sure you are okay? You were a little weird earlier."
"When?"
"With the alien."
"Oh that. I don't know. The thought of him being all alone out there, just kind of reminded me of being in that pod. Then I started wondering if he had family who were looking for him."
-00-
"I found something and in the spirit of cooperation I thought you'd might be interested." Tycho said over the video link. "It is something that might merge our two interests."
"I'm listening." Stagg said.
"I have been working on various forms of Kryptonite." Tycho explained.
"Is that why the man in tights has been acting like he is a few steps away from going as crazy as Lex Luthor?"
"Yes."
"I thought you wanted to control him not turn the world against him?" Stagg asked.
"Both will happen, the order is unimportant." Tycho said.
"What has this got to do with me?"
"There were rumours many years ago that Lex Luthor had managed to bestow upon himself the powers of the Kryptonians. No one has figured out if that was true and if it was how, but I have done something similar."
"You have given yourself powers?" Stagg asked, becoming interested in the conversation.
"I have come up with a way to give people powers." Tycho said.
"Doesn't that solve your problem? You no longer need to control the god if you are the god." Stagg pointed out.
"There is a catch. Humans aren't Kryptonians so the cellular changes are not fully compatible with the DNA which leads to a rapid death. In a way it is perfect. Expose them, give them god like powers, safe in the knowledge that they will be dead within a week."
"A week?" Stagg asked.
"That can be tweaked slightly." Tycho said. "But it will always be a short term position. Which will stop them out staying their welcome. In the mean time, if they can be controlled could be useful in your enterprises?"
"They could. What do you want from me?"
"Sharing knowledge. If we learn to control them I can control the Kryptonians." Tycho said.
-00-
"Are you sure you are okay with this?" Alex asked her sister as they stood in the desert the next day.
"Of course." Supergirl said. "I mean it is not like they are actually going to be shooting me with Kryptonite bullets. Are they?"
"No. They will be using paint guns." Alex said. "If you get hit by less than five pellets you get pizza for dinner. More than five and I let Alex choose."
"You don't need to motivate me I am already pumped." Supergirl said.
"You are? Why?"
"Because it feels like all we are doing is sitting around and waiting." Kara said. "Be it Sloane Syndicate or Tycho and Stagg or Kai or Holtz and co or Kal, we are making zero progress across the board. Hence I need to do something that gives me a sense of achievement."
"After that pep talk so do I." Alex said. "I'm going to go and motivate my team. We'll start in five minutes."
-00-
"Okay listen up. The aim of this exercise is to take out Supergirl. You all have paint ball guns. All you have to do is hit the moving target. Your suits will protect you and give you physical advantages but they don't make you invincible The person with the most hits gets off PT for the next week. Anyone who does not get a hit gets double PT for the next month." Alex said to the DEO team. "Okay, get into position. When it starts you have three minutes to stop her." Alex said before walking back to the command hut where the team were all making bets. On seeing Alex enter they all stopped until Alex said. "Put me down for twenty on Supergirl."
"Yes Ma'am." Rose said before the exercise started.
For the next three minutes Alex watched her sister dodge every shot aimed at her while also stripping the agents of their guns. When the hooter rang Alex stormed out of the command tent.
"What was that?" Alex asked approaching Supergirl.
"What do you mean?"
"You held back."
"Of course I did. I didn't want to hurt them."
"I get that, but they are wearing special amour. We need you to not hold back so we know that it works." Alex said, her words filling the agents with dread.
"Okay, we are changing the game. Supergirl, inside that building is a box. Inside the box is a prize. You need to go in and extract the prize in under three minutes." Alex said pointing to a temporary structure. "Team Alpha you need to stop her. This time no holding back." She added looking at her sister.
"Okay." Supergirl said.
"Team Alpha you have five minutes to think of a plan and get into position." With that she went back to the command tent.
"You still want to bet on Supergirl?" Rose asked.
"Of course." Alex said.
"But isn't there that surprise waiting for her?"
"She'll figure it out." Alex said.
-00-
As Supergirl got to the centre of the building she saw the small chest sitting in a cell. Walking up to the cell she tried to pull the bars apart only to find they wouldn't move.
"That's cheating." She protested over the radio.
"Time's ticking." Alex replied with no sympathy.
Hearing the DEO squad approach she looked round and decided to go route one. Flying to the top of the cell she gripped the bars and attempted to rip it from the ground.
Grunting with effort she ripped the cell from the ground before tossing it to one side and picking up the box and flying off.
Once in the sky she tried opening it only to find it was also made of a metal so tough she couldn't break into it.
"One minute." Alex said over the radio.
"Flying out of reach of the DEO agents she landed and tried punching the box only for her hand to bounce off. Confused she picked up the box and carefully looked at it searching for the joints. Having found them she cycled between her freeze breath and heat vision trying to weaken it. She became so focused on the task at hand she almost missed the DEO agents approaching. Turning she used her freeze breath on them before returning to the box Finally the stress the hot and cold had place on the joints worked and she heard a crack. Ripping the lid off she found the sticky bun.
As she started to eat it she flew to the command centre.
"What was that metal?" Kara asked.
"Inerton." Alex said.
"You could have warned me." Supergirl said before she saw lots of money changing hands. "What's going on?"
"Payout." Rose said. "Bets were placed on who would win." She explained before handing Alex a pile of cash.
"You bet on me?" Supergirl asked.
"Of course I bet on you." Alex said before adding. "I needed to get enough money to pay for the pizza."
-00-
"Director." Harris said knocking on her office door later that day.
"Yes." Alex said looking up.
"Detective Malone is here."
"Who?" Alex asked confused.
"Perter Malone. NCPD." A man said entering the office. "I have been working your daughter's case."
"Come in." Alex said pointing at a chair.
"As you know you are far too close to this case." Malone said. "But I am a parent too and I imagine the restraint you are showing is starting to cause ulcers. So I am here to give you an update. Unofficially of course."
"Thank you." Alex said.
"Don't thank me yet. You haven't heard what I have to say."
"What's happened?" Alex asked.
"The only one of them who said anything was the boy you cornered in the school. He gave us the names of everyone involved. But we only have DNA evidence against four of them. We also don't know which one stabbed Alonso Lopez. So if I am being honest the punishment handed down by the courts is going to be poor at best. But Kevin, before an expensive lawyer, paid for by Holtz Senior, turned up, did tell what he was told."
"Which was?"
"He was told they were meant to scare your daughter. Holtz Jr told him he has some contact lenses he was going to make her wear, they wouldn't cause permanent damage, but would get revenge for his expulsion."
"And he bought that?"
"Seems to have done. We have found no evidence that Kai or Sloane Syndicate were behind the attack. We'll keep digging, but I doubt we'll turn up anything else and with the calibre of lawyers being used I doubt there will be any more confessions."
-00-
"Will you cut it out?" The teenage Alex asked as MJ kept throwing bullets from his old nerf gun at her head.
"Why?"
"It's annoying and I am trying to do my homework."
"Yeah, but you don't really need to. And the only way you will find out if you can generate forcefields is to try."
"Can't you go harass Diz. He has powers." The teenage Alex pointed out.
"And tattoos and he probably has a weapon." MJ said. "If I annoy him I'm not sure what will happen, but you like me too much to lash out."
"That's a brave assumption." The teenage Alex said as another pellet hit her head.
"Besides if I help you activate this power you'll thank me." He added tossing another pellet. This time his cousin used her telekinesis to stop it mid air and direct it straight back at MJ.
"Hey." MJ protested.
"What?" Alex asked innocently.
"Guys, what's going on?" Alex asked entering the den.
"Nothing." Both teens said.
"Very convincing." The older Alex said dryly. "I'm about to order dinner, any preference on toppings?"
"No." The two teens said.
"Okay, I will call you when it arrives." She said before adding. "No fighting." With that she left.
Once she had gone the teenage Alex focused on all the pellets and used her power to pepper her cousin with the pellets.
"Hey!" MJ complained.
"What? You wanted me to practice." She pointed out as MJ picked up a pellet and threw it at her. This time it appeared to bounce off her.
-00-
"Sorry I'm late." Kara said entering her sister's house.
"You're not, I have only just ordered." Alex said.
"Everything okay?"
"Seems to be."
"That sounded not so confident." Kara pointed out.
"Sorry, I'm just tired." Alex said.
"But you just stood in the command tent." Kara pointed out.
"Hey!" Alex protested. "Organising you lot takes a lot of effort."
"So what is bothering you?"
"Something you said earlier about not achieving anything."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring you down." Kara said.
"You didn't. You just highlighted the fact I took my eye off the big picture." Alex said. "But it's not just that. NCPD came to see me earlier."
"And?"
"If Kevin is to believed it was an act of revenge and not linked to Kai or Sloane Syndicate."
"Do you believe him?"
"I don't know. Maybe Kevin was telling the truth or maybe he was kept in the dark. But if he was that doesn't tell us if Holtz knows what he was doing or if someone put him up to it. So we're kind of back at square one. But if someone did put Holtz up to it, is it linked to the bigger picture I am not seeing? Or am I getting so paranoid that I am missing the obvious?" Alex asked as the front door opened.
"How was training?" Alex asked her daughter.
"Good." The teen said grabbing some water from the fridge.
"Diz isn't staying for dinner?" The older Kara asked, guessing he had given her niece a ride home.
"No." The teen replied staring at her mother.
"What?" The adult Alex asked. "I've not done anything."
"Hmmm." The teenage said before adding. "I'm going to make a start on my homework."