"I'm heading home, do you want a ride?" Alex asked as she entered the gym where Supergirl was sparring with Wildcat.
"I can't." Supergirl said. "I've found one of the families."
"What families?"
"Of the missing metas. Specifically the family of Fatigue."
"I remember Fatigue." Wildcat said.
"She went missing shortly after I returned. Around the time of the fight with Mongul. But according to her family she didn't run off. I'm meeting them tonight to get further information." Kara explained.
"I'll come with you." Alex said.
"Why?"
"Because it could be a trap." Alex said. "And if I don't go with you I will go home and suffocate Kara more than I am doing already."
"I've heard about that." Wildcat smiled.
"How?" Alex asked glaring at him.
"Look at the time, I need to go." He said leaving the gym.
-00-
As the teenage Kara started to walk home by herself she felt herself being overcome with fear. Having made it twenty feet she decided she couldn't go further and hurried back to the safety of the school grounds. Once inside the gate she took some calming breaths as she tried to figure out what to do. Finally she decided to go and wait in the library until MJ had finished practice.
-00-
"This is it." Kara said as Alex pulled up in front of a house. "It's not too late for you to go home and be with Kara."
"I know." Alex said looking at the phone. "But she won't be there. She's staying at school to study. She'll walk back with MJ."
"Okay then, let's go." Kara said. "But remember this isn't an interrogation."
"What does that mean?" Alex asked.
"Don't go all Mr Blonde on them." Kara said walking towards the door and ringing the doorbell. When the door opened and a woman peered out Kara said. "I'm Kara Danvers from CatCo. We spoke on the phone."
"Of course. Come in." The woman said but when she saw Alex she said. "I was only expecting one of you."
"I'm Agent Danvers from the FBI." Alex said waving her fake credentials.
"Does that mean you are finally taking this seriously?" The woman asked hopefully.
"It means I am interested in what you have to say." Alex said.
"I'll tell you both whatever you need to know." The woman said leading them to the lounge.
As they sat down the woman handed Kara a photo.
"That is Tess, when she wasn't Fatigue." She explained before she sat down. "When she first developed her power as a teenager, she was so uncomfortable. But as a child she had been so inspired by Supergirl and pretty soon she was convinced she wanted to use her power for good. I was against it, it was far to dangerous for me, but she is so head strong she did it anyway. But she was always alone. She was excited about Supergirl returning. Tess wanted to be part of a group. She was always on the outside looking in. Growing up she watched videos of Supergirl and read stories and was inspired. When Supergirl came back she had this idea that she could join Supergirl, be part of a team. But then she disappeared. Everyone assumed she got scared. And she did get scared, everyone does. But she wouldn't have run."
"Did she leave any clues?" Kara asked.
"She left this note. But that isn't her writing. But no one would believe me." The woman said handing her an envelope.
"Can I take that?" Alex asked. "I'd like to run some tests. I will bring it back."
"Of course." The woman said, starting to believe someone may be in her corner.
"There's a chance she wasn't the only one." Kara said. "I'm trying to find what happened to all of them."
"Here." The woman said putting a box on the table. "I'm sure I could have done this using a computer, but I still prefer paper. It makes it feel real." As Kara opened it she saw note books and newspaper cuttings. "Twenty seven people have disappeared. Or at least that is how many I found. Well not found because they are lost."
-00-
"We're closing." Were the words teenage Kara woke to.
"What?" She asked sitting up.
"We're closing." The janitor said. "The school is about to be locked."
"What? What time is it?" She asked looking at her watch.
"Eight-thirty." The janitor said.
"Damn it." Kara said putting her books in her bag. She then apologised as she walked out of the library. Once she was in the deserted corridor she took out her phone and tried calling her mother but getting no answer she scrolled through her contacts.
-00-
"What do you think?" The adult Kara asked as she got in the passenger side.
"I think you are right. We are missing the big picture." Her sister said.
"So what now?"
"Now we go home. You are meant to not be pushing yourself. Besides Alex should be getting back soon and I need to get back for Kara." Alex said. "But tomorrow we will look into all those metas."
-00-
"You okay?" Diz asked as the teenage Kara almost flew into his car.
"Yeah, sure. Thank you for picking me up."
"No worries." He said as he started to drive off, but when he saw Kara was trembling he slammed on the brakes pulling to the side of the road. "Who did it?"
"Did what?" Kara asked confused.
"You're shaking. Who attacked you?"
"No one." Kara said.
"Then why are you shaking?"
"I tried going home by myself and I couldn't, so I thought I'd wait for MJ, but then I fell asleep and when I woke up MJ had already gone and I couldn't reach mom or aunt Kara."
"Kar, it's okay. You're safe." Diz said squeezing her hand.
"No I'm not. No one has any idea who attacked me. They are still out there."
"So are the good guys." Diz pointed out.
"Sorry for dragging you out here."
"Anytime." He replied.
"Should you be driving. I mean you were stabbed."
"It was just a flesh wound. It's fine."
-00-
"Hi." Alex called when she got home.
"Hi." MJ said not looking up from his game.
"Where's your sister?"
"Dunno."
"She was coming back with you." Alex reminded him.
"That's news to me. I had practice." He reminded her.
"And she was studying late in the library. She told me she was going to walk back with you."
"Didn't get that message." He said finally looking up from his game and searching for his phone. "See- Oh, crap."
"What?" Alex asked.
"I just didn't see that message."
Worried Alex took out her phone and saw the missed call from her daughter. She was about to ring when the front door opened.
"Where have you been?" Alex asked when her daughter walked through the front door.
"I fell to sleep. The janitor woke me when he was about to lock up. I tried calling you and you didn't answer so I asked Diz to meet me so I didn't have to walk home by myself."
"You okay?" Alex asked.
"Sure."
"I'm sorry I missed your call."
"It's fine." The teen said. "I'm tired, I'm going to go to bed."
"Have you eaten?" Alex asked as the teenager headed upstairs.
"I'm not hungry."
-00-
"Look who made it to the land of the living." Alex said as her daughter came downstairs the next morning.
"Hi."
"You okay?" Alex asked.
"Just tired." The teen said putting bread in the toaster.
"You still not sleeping?" Alex asked earning a non committal shrug from her daughter.
"MJ and Alex have gone bowling, it's probably not to late to catch them." Alex said.
"It's fine." Kara replied.
"Want to talk about what happened?"
"I've not remembered anything else." The teenager said.
"That's not what I meant." Alex said.
"I know. I'm going to have a shower." The teen said picking up a slice of toast and going back upstairs.
-00-
"Everything okay?" The older Kara asked as Alex entered her apartment.
"I don't know. Kara is being elusive. What are you doing?" Alex asked noticing Kara was sitting in front of her computer.
"Looking into the missing metas. I think I have found more. I am drawing up a list of their families."
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"I have already had one Kara lie to me about being okay this morning. I can't cope with a second."
"Really, I am okay."
"But?"
"I just can't help feeling if I had paid attention a little earlier I could have stopped some of this."
"Kara, we have been working on this for a while and we still don't know what this is. You couldn't have stopped it. It isn't your fault."
"It doesn't feel that way." Kara sad sadly.
"Who is the next meta we are going to look into?" Alex asked.
"We?"
"I'm not letting you do this alone." Alex pointed out. "So who is it?"
"Lullaby." Kara said.
"Similar powers to Fatigue?"
"Not really. Lullaby could send people to sleep, where as Fatigue managed to cause repeated stress to areas so they developed weaknesses. She used her power on objects rather than people." Kara explained reading her notes.
"So why are we starting with Lullaby?" Alex asked.
"No reason other than Lullaby's sister agreed to see me today." Kara said. "Speaking of which I need to go."
"I'll come with you."
-00-
"Hi guys." Kara said as she returned to her apartment where MJ and Alex were playing a computer game while Chewie looked on bored.
"Hi mom." The teenage Alex called back before pressing a random selection of buttons and killed her cousin's character.
"I am sure you are cheating." MJ complained throwing down the controller
"How was bowling?" Kara asked her daughter.
"It was okay." The teen said as her aunt looked at MJ and asked.
"Where's your sister?"
"Don't know. Home?" MJ asked.
"I'll go over to check on her." Alex said to her sister.
"Are you coming back for dinner?"
"No, I have some paperwork to finish off." Alex said.
"Can I stay here?" MJ asked.
"Sure." The older Kara said as her sister left the apartment.
-00-
"Kara? You home?" Alex called entering the house.
"Yes." Kara called back from the lounge.
"How are you doing?" Alex asked.
"Fine." Her daughter replied making Alex wonder why she bothered to ask.
"MJ is over the road if you want to join him." Alex said.
"Okay." Kara said walking to the front door, wanting to escape the interrogation she was assuming was about to happen. But when she opened it and saw how dark it was she suddenly felt the panic build again and quickly stepped back and shut the door.
"I thought you were heading over?"
"I was, but I just remembered a report I have to do."