"Can you talk to mom?" The teenage Alex asked her aunt the next morning.
"About what?" The older Alex asked looking up from her tablet.
"Her nightmares. Or her insomnia."
"What?" The older Alex asked confused.
"She has started standing in my room and watching me sleep."
"Which you know how?" The older Alex asked frowning.
"I've not been asleep or she wakes me up. But when I ask her about it she lies and says she has only just got there."
"I'll talk to her." Alex said. "But after what she saw, it is going to take time."
"I know that. But if she doesn't talk about it she won't get better." The teen pressed.
"I know. We'll make sure she is okay."
"Thanks." The teenager said as MJ entered the kitchen. Seeing his cousin he quickly looked at his watch, worried he was later. Seeing the time he asked.
"Why are you here so early?"
"Perhaps she doesn't want to be late for school." His mother suggested.
Ignoring his mother MJ asked his cousin. "Is this about last night?"
"What happened last night?" The older Alex asked frowning.
"Mom had a panic attack during my chess match." The teenage Alex said.
"I'll talk to her." Alex repeated as the teenage Kara rushed into the kitchen looking for something.
"Hi." She greeted her cousin while looking through the drawers.
"What have you lost?" Her mother asked.
"My – never mind, I have it." She said taking something out of the drawer and walking out of the kitchen.
"I'm going to talk to your mom." The older Alex said to her niece. She then looked at her son, who was eating some toast, and said, "Don't be late for school."
-00-
"Alex? What are you doing here?" Kara asked her sister.
"I'm here to talk you down."
"From what?"
"The edge of insanity."
"What are you talking about?"
"Alex is worried about you."
"Why?"
"Ignoring the panic attack?" Alex asked.
"She told you?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Alex countered.
"It was late and I've not seen you since." Kara explained.
"But that isn't what is really bothering her."
"It's not?"
"No You've been watching her sleep." Alex pointed out.
"Just to make sure she is okay." Kara said.
"What's going on?" Alex asked.
"I keep wondering if this is a Black Mercy dream."
"Aren't they meant to be paradise?"
"Yes."
"Pretty sure you wouldn't have Tycho in your paradise." Alex argued.
"That's a good point." Kara conceded. "But even if it isn't the Black Mercy, what if this is some dream and when I wake up Alex is gone?"
"Kara, this is real." Her sister promised her.
"I just- it was so real."
"I know." Alex said hugging her. "But Alex is ok and so are you. Only you are making Alex worry about you."
"I don't want to. But sometimes it feels that if I don't see her she'll just disappear."
"I wish I could help you." Her sister said.
"You are, by being here." Kara said as Alex's phone started buzzing.
"Problem?" Kara asked her sister.
"Don't know. They have found something. I need to get to the DE-" Before she finished her sentence Kara changed into her costume and picked Alex up before flying to the DEO.
-00-
"I wish you wouldn't do that." Alex complained to Supergirl once she had been put down in the control room.
"What? It was the fastest option." Supergirl said.
"What do you have?" Alex asked Vasquez.
"The shoe delivery has just been picked up from the distribution hubs." Vasquez said. "What we don't know yet is how the exchange will happen. All the trucks are autonomous. Destination is preprogrammed by the warehouse."
"So there is someone on the inside?" Supergirl asked.
"We thought that, but having accessed their systems we aren't sure how. Everything is programmed automatically. It is then checked by another computer. There is no human intervention at all."
"Take me through the entire process." Alex ordered.
"The merchandise is loaded, by robots, into containers. These are then locked. Once secure they are loaded onto a truck, which is programmed with delivery information. Once the containers have left the warehouse To open the lock three things need to happen. They need to be in the correct location, as in the delivery point, confirmed by GPS, it needs to be the right time. The time is updated based on real time traffic. Thirdly a passkey that the owner of the delivery site has."
"So if the owner of the shop is in on it, the passkey won't be a problem." Alex said.
"And GPS can be spoofed. And they will know the time it is meant to be opened." Vasquez said.
"So how do they switch containers?" Alex asked.
"I have an idea, but it is a little whacky." Rose said.
"What is it?" Alex asked.
"This is the route the truck is meant to take." Rose said bring up a map. "It is a three hour journey from the warehouse to the shop. An hour of which is outside of the city and on fairly quiet roads. The route goes through the Slater tunnel."
"The what?" Supergirl asked.
"The Slater tunnel. It was completed ten years ago." Alex explained. "It runs underground for ten miles, going under both the river and a town."
"It was paid for and built by Cherwell Inc, whose CEO was Mark Slater. Hence the name. However, Cherwell Inc was part of Sloane Syndicate. Further digging through the financial details extracted by the IRS found that the money actually came from Tycho. And to complete the circle Cherwell Inc subcontracted TFL, who are part of Tycho's empire. But where it gets really interesting is the GPR results." Rose explained.
"GPR?" Supergirl asked.
"Ground penetrating radar." Rose said pulling up the images. "Officially the tunnel is three lanes in each direction, with an emergency access route down the middle. However, the structure is five times bigger than that. Even with plenty of margin put in for safety it is far too wide and too deep."
"So what do you think is happening?" Alex asked.
"I think that there are extra roads to the side and underneath. I think these trucks are using those roads, where there is no chance of GPS reception and it is there the switch is happening."
"But the timing would be wrong." Alex argued.
"I meant I think they switch entire containers. They lift it from the truck and replace it with another. You can do it in thirty seconds." Rose said. "That way no one knows. And the maker of the containers is a company that was also part of Sloane Syndicate."
"So Tycho built a multi million dollar tunnel-" Supergirl started.
"Billion." Rose corrected. "Based on the what the IRS found it cost 3 billion per mile. Which is way over what it should have done."
"So he spent 30 billion dollars on a tunnel to allow smuggling. Would he really make his money back?"
"This shipment alone is likely to earn a quarter of a million. Do it once a week you have eleven million a year." Rose said. "Seeing the deliveries from over one hundred warehouses go through that tunnel with over 10 000 trucks a day. You only need to target a few of them per week and you've made your money up. And this could have been going on for a decade."
"At the moment it is speculation." Alex said. "But if you are right the switch has already happened." She paused and thought for a moment. "Let's have a concerned member of the public report seeing a crack in the tunnel. We will send a team to investigate, which includes J'onn. He can phase through the walls and have a look round."
"What do you want me to do?" Supergirl asked.
"Right now nothing. Except watch your back." Alex replied.
-00-
"Where's your sister?" The adult Alex asked as she got home.
"Upstairs, moping."
"Moping?" Alex asked looking at her son.
"She came in, muttered something, went up stairs and locked herself in her room." MJ summarised.
"I'm going to check on her." His mother said before adding. "Shouldn't you be doing homework?"
"Kara? I'm coming in." Alex said entering her daughter's bedroom where she was hunched over her desk holding her head in her hands. "What's wrong?" Alex asked moving towards the teenager.
"None of this makes sense." The teen said. "And I'm going to fail the test and disappoint everyone and-" She started, but as she saw her mother frown she quickly added. "Don't worry, this is all me. I've not had another encounter with Malaise."
"You sure?" Alex asked still frowning.
"I'm sure."
"Okay, well what are you stuck with?"
"Maxwell's laws."
"Well, why don't I help you?" Alex asked.
"You?"
"I am a scientist and I did pretty well at high school." Alex pointed out.
"Yeah, but don't you have work to do?"
"This is more important." Alex said, still feeling guilty about not noticing how much stress her daughter was under.
"It's probably too late now anyway. The test is in 14 hours."
"I promise you when you get your head round it, it is easy." Alex said.
-00-
"I'm sorry if I have been worrying you." Kara said as she walked with Alex and Chewie.
"Are you okay?" The teen asked.
"I'm getting there." Kara replied. "But it is going to take time. While I am working through it I will try not to freak you out."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help more." The teen said.
"What are you talking about?" Kara asked confused.
"If I could control my powers better, maybe you wouldn't still believe what you saw-"
"You did great." Kara said stopping and facing her daughter. "You saved me when no one else could. Me feeling like I do has nothing to do with what you did. I'm scared of letting you down and you getting hurt. And I will always be scared about that." Kara said hugging her just as her stomach rumbled.
"I thought you snacked before we came out?" The teen said pulling out of the hug.
"I burn calories quickly." Kara shrugged as it started to rain. "Let's get under cover." She added leading her daughter and dog to towards the row of restaurants and cafes. "First dog friendly restaurant or cafe that is open we'll go to." Kara said before regretting her statement when she realised that the first open restaurant was a vegan restaurant. Groaning she held the door open and her daughter and dog entered the warm dry building.
"We'll stop for doughnuts on the way home." The teen said, taking pity on her mother.
"If I make it that long." Kara said as she sat on a wooden chair.
"Vegetables are good for you." The teen said.
"Hmmm." Kara said as more customers came in from the rain.
Before Alex could say anything further the new customers suddenly dropped several grenades on the floor, each of which rolled towards Kara's table. Seeing them Kara jumped up and dove on top of her daughter trying to shield her moments before a red light soaked the room as green gas filled the restaurant.
Less effected than her mother, Alex tried to use her telekinesis to attack the men. However, with the Kryptonite gas weakening her she only managed to send a few objects flying towards them before she felt hands gripping her and something stab her neck before her world went black.