Prologue - Aftermath

Catherine Grant blinked as the incapacitating pain in her head finally started to fade. Still woozy, she climbed up from the floor and ungracefully plopped onto her office couch. She took a few deep breaths as the pain slowly subsided. Glancing to the bullpen, she found her employees in similar states of recovery, except for her assistant, whose absence was unsurprising.

Myriad, Cat thought uneasily and stood, carefully moving to her desk in her impractically high, custom-designed Louboutins. Picking up her cellphone, she called her son. After one ring, he answered "Mom?"
"Carter! Are you ok?" She asked anxiously, pinching the bridge of her nose, still feeling off.

"I . . . I think so. Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes. Just regaining my bearings, sweetheart," she said with a relieved exhale.

"What was that, Mom?"

"I'm not exactly sure, yet, but I think it was what Supergirl was fighting against before," Cat said.

"Wow. Well since it stopped, I guess she won?" he said hopefully.

"A good deduction," she offered, hoping he was right as she glanced to her assistant's empty desk.

"Is Kara ok?" he asked, which was not unexpected. Her shy son had quickly taken a shine to her sunny assistant and would frequently ask about her.

"I . . . I'm sure she is. But she isn't in the office at the moment," Cat said uncomfortably, glancing to Kara's empty desk again, then out at the balcony, wishing Kara would have the decency to show up at least for a moment and quell her inconveniently nagging worry.

"Not surprising," he muttered quietly.

Cat blinked. He was a highly intelligent boy, she considered and asked curiously, "What do you mean it's not . . . ?" "Mom," Carter quickly interrupted. "Gotta go. The school wants us to assemble and check on us. Love you!" he said quickly and hung up as she said "Oh. Okay. Love you swee..."

"Hmmm," Cat murmured, staring at her phone a moment, deciding she needed to have a conversation with her son about phone etiquette.

Calling her other son, she received his voice mail. She frowned. "Adam. It's your . . . uh, me, Cat," Cat stumbled awkwardly, still finding it hard to talk with her firstborn. "Please . . . let me know you are ok. A text, phone call . . . carrier pigeon," she blurted in frustration. "I don't care how. Just . . . let me know. Please," she said uncomfortably, ending the call without the declaration of love that came so easily with Carter.

She was painfully aware of how Adam still bristled when she tried to get closer, fully understanding his mistrust; she was the one who gave him up as a baby. And in spite of Kara's eternal optimism, she wasn't sure they would ever be able to reach across the emotional chasm she created and grow comfortable with each other. But she would keep trying. She owed him that much.

Shaking her head, she set her phone down on her desk and headed to her private balcony - a sanctuary that had become even more special ever since a certain flying hero started visiting her there.

Cat searched the clear blue sky but did not find the red and blue streak she hoped to see. It was a beautifully sunny day, as if nothing was wrong . . . like nothing had just caused inexplicable pain to the citizens of National City. But it seemed the crisis had passed. For now, Cat considered warily as she massaged her temples. She had erroneously thought the threat was over before. Supergirl's impassioned speech had undermined Myriad's spell, rescuing them from becoming mindless drones. But then, the pain occurred. Such incredibly debilitating pain, the likes of which she had never experienced before – not even with her occasional, excruciating migraines.

"Miss Grant?" a soft, deep voice startled her.

She turned to see her Art Director standing at the balcony door, looking exhausted.

"Are you alright?" James Olsen asked as he rubbed his temples.

She nodded absently, though still feeling a little off. "How is everyone?" she glanced towards the office, where instead of the normal busy buzz, there was a sluggish hum as her employees checked on each other.

"Feeling better now but still a little shook up from . . . that," James said vaguely, motioning to his head.

"Well, I would very much like to understand what THAT was," Cat said with irritation. "I want you to contact Supergirl," she said firmly, "and tell her I'd like to speak with her about that attack. I want to publish the story in the morning paper. I suspect it was associated with Myriad, but we need facts."

"I . . . can try," he said guardedly.

"Do, Mr. Olsen. There is no try," she said dryly, causing him to blink with surprise. "Oh, and if you can manage to find Keira, I would like to see for myself that she's ok too," Cat said, pointedly eyeing James, who glanced towards Kara's empty desk and nodded uncomfortably.

"Right. I'm on it."

"Wonderful," Cat said flatly with a thin smile. "And James? I want a report from each department head on the condition of their personnel in 30 minutes," she said, turning towards the city view, dismissing him.

"Of course," he said and left.

Looking out over the city again, Cat couldn't shake that surprising feeling of anxiety that grew in Kara's absence. With a deep breath, she headed to the bar to get herself a well-deserved drink. Pouring herself a glass, she paused and frowned. Now where did Kara keep the Advil?

SGSGSG

When James returned to his office, he found Winn waiting for him. He closed his door with a worried look.

"What?" Winn asked.

"Cat is looking for Kara."

Winn smirked. "Easy peasy. I'll just tell her that she was still feeling bad after the brain pain," he said with a shrug.

"Well she also wants me to get Supergirl for her," James grumbled, pulling out his cellphone.

"I wonder if she realizes Supergirl is probably too busy to just drop everything to see her, especially after the brain . . . pain," Winn said, awkwardly motioning to his head.

"Hmm," James responded as he dialed Kara, pretty sure the Queen of all Media didn't care.

James frowned, looking at Winn. "Voice ma . . . Oh hey, Kara. Please give me a call. It's urgent. Cat wants to see both you and Supergirl. Call me," he said and hung up.

"She's probably still superhero-ing," Winn said thoughtfully. "Non has kept her pretty busy with trying to control . . . or kill us," he said uncomfortably, recalling being controlled by Myriad and unable to stop himself from jumping off the CATCO balcony.

James nodded as he dialed Alex. He rolled his eyes in frustration, immediately getting voice mail. "Hey Alex. Uh, Cat Grant needs to speak with Supergirl and she also asked about how Kara was after the . . . brain pain . . . thing," he said awkwardly. "Please call. Cat isn't patient," he said and hung up.

"I'm pretty sure Alex already knew that last part," Winn noted.

James glared at him.


Chapter 1 - Waiting

Cat leaned on her penthouse balcony's railing with a drink in hand, scanning the starry sky but still not finding what she hoped to see. It had been an excruciatingly long day, she considered and sighed, taking a healthy sip from her crystal tumbler. Examining the scotch level thoughtfully, she would say she was in dire need of a top off, but knew Kara would say it was still half-full and try to push her towards M&Ms. Ever the optimist, Cat considered with a smirk, which faded. She was not feeling exactly optimistic with Kara's continued absence. Gently swirling the liquid in her glass, she frowned, their last conversation niggling at her . . . .

After having tasked Kara with fetching a moon-juice smoothie with Chinese herbs, instead of her usual latte, she had sagely explained to her confused assistant that they had been through hell with Myriad and survived. Then, she espoused that they should not take life for granted, always take good care of themselves, and reject the latte and drink the green juice. She threw in "carpe diem" for good measure.

Then, out of the blue, Kara had started to compliment her. She said it was an honor working for her and that she was her role model, who lead the city with such strength and grace and had the biggest heart. Kara concluded with how thankful she was for Cat being an amazing mentor and friend.

Of course old habits drove Cat to challenge Kara, flippantly accusing the gushing praise as being either her eulogy or a dictated suicide note, then questioning whether there was something Kara should tell her. Kara had awkwardly shrugged the question off, saying she was just taking her advice - "carpe diem." If it had been anyone else, she would have still been suspicious about the sudden and embarrassingly kind words, which usually meant an agenda. But this was Kara, who was kindness personified.

Cat sipped her drink, worried her initial instinct was actually right - that there had been more to the unexpected testimonial.

"Mom?"

Startled, she turned towards her pajama-clad son, who joined her side. "And why are you not in bed, young man?"

"Can't sleep," he shrugged.

"Oh?" she said, tenderly cupping his cheek. "Are you having headaches?" she immediately asked, frowning slightly as she scanned his eyes and face for any residual effects from the day's attack.

"Nah," he said, earning a familiar glare of reproof. "No," he amended, even though he still thought 'nah' was an acceptable answer; it was in the Oxford English Dictionary after all. But he knew there were some battles not worth fighting with his mother. "I just . . . ," he said, looking at her expectantly. "You're worried."

"Well I do run a multi-billion dollar company, Carter," she said with a gentle chuckle, squeezing his shoulder. "You should go back to bed, sweetheart, and not concern yourself with what's on my. . . ."

"This is different," he interrupted with some annoyance for her deflection. "You haven't heard from her yet, have you," he asked pointedly, briefly glancing up at the sky.

She wasn't sure whether she was proud of or annoyed by her very perceptive son. Perhaps a bit of both, she decided. With a heavy sigh, she shook her head and admitted "nah" with a small, amused smile.

Carter rolled his eyes, but had to admit that 'nah' didn't sound right, especially from his mother.

"You really should get back to bed. I'm not going to be too pleased if you are cranky in the morning from lack of sleep," she warned him.

"She usually talks to you after something happens, doesn't she?" Carter persisted, undeterred.

With a sigh for the stubborn boy who was clearly her son, she admitted "not always, but with something big, usually."

He nodded. "That attack was pretty big," he said and gave her a hug, which she drank in gratefully. "But she's probably just busy."

She squeezed him a bit tighter, then kissed him on his forehead. "Probably so. Maybe I should just be annoyed with her for not telling me what happened, rather than worried," she said with a small smirk.

"Will it help you sleep any better if you are annoyed instead of worried?" Carter challenged, knowing the answer.

"No," she admitted as he yawned. "Carter," she warned sternly, glancing pointedly towards his bedroom.

"I'm going!" he quickly said, giving her a kiss on her cheek and saying, "love you" before heading back inside the penthouse.

"Love you too, sweetheart," she said with a warm smile.

He hesitated at the patio door and looked at his mom. "It'll be fine, Mom. You'll see," he said confidently.

She took a deep breath and nodded at her beautiful, kind-hearted boy, then looked at him curiously. "Interestingly, you didn't ask about Kara," she eyed him in mild challenge.

His gaze dropped a moment, before he glanced at the sky, then her with a small shrug. "She's probably busy too."

Cat smirked proudly and responded "Probably."

"Night, mom."

"Good night, sweetheart."

SGSGSG

The next morning, a sleep-deprived, but still impeccably dressed Cat Grant emerged from her private elevator. Her confident stride and imperious bearing were unaffected by fatigue, thanks to unfortunately frequent practice throughout her career. Her regal step faltered when she approached her assistant's still-empty desk. She stared at the vacant spot with a troubled look. There were no signs of candy, food containers, or sugary beverages that normally cluttered her desk.

While having become accustomed to Kara's abrupt disappearances, this absence felt . . . different; their last conversation continued to haunt her. With a displeased exhale that this ominous feeling would not go away, she placed her Chanel bag and Valentino jacket in her office and went to see her Art Director.

Without a word, she marched into James' office, sparing a suspicious glare at Woodruff, who looked like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But then, he always did have a skittish vibe. She stopped in front of his desk and placed her hands on her hips, cocking them to one side as she looked at James expectantly.

"Uh, Kara's still feeling unwell from that . . . brain pain . . . that happened," James volunteered uncomfortably.

"And she feels really bad for taking another sick day," Winn chimed in helpfully, offering a weak smile.

Cat exhaled with annoyance. "For heaven's sake! If my employees are sick, I expect them to take sick leave so they don't drag around the office like zombies, underperforming, while contaminating the rest of us," she said pointedly, causing Winn's weak smile to vanish as he shifted uncomfortably under her glare.

Winn sucked in a breath, about to helpfully explain that while employees with headaches may be underperforming zombies, contagion wasn't actually a concern. But catching James' warning glare and terse shake of his head, Winn's mouth clamped shut, wisely swallowing his unneeded observation.

"And Kara's work ethic has never been in question, Sgt. Shultz," Cat added firmly.

Winn blinked.

"What about Supergirl?" Cat asked impatiently, glaring at James. "Your failure to contact her forced me to run an inferior story on the effects of what happened, not the cause!" she spat tersely, before suddenly taking a long, cleansing breath and sharing a pleasant smile, which James and Winn could only construe as a threat. "I would, very much," she said slowly, "like to provide the citizens of this fine city the facts about what they were subjected to."

"Uh, I realize that Miss Grant, but I'm not getting through to my contacts," James said uneasily; that fact was also was beginning to worry him too.

"Not even her cousin?" Cat countered, though recalled his curious susceptibility to the Myriad signal.

James shook his head and frowned. "I guess they are all still busy after that . . . thing . . . happened," he added with a shrug, feeling compelled to say something more.

He shouldn't have.

"Guess? You guess?!" she hissed. "I have no time for asinine guesses, Mr. Olsen! I need facts! I need to speak with Supergirl so I can write the story that should be written! Get. Me. Supergirl!" she spat and did a crisp about-face, an impressive feat in her stilettos, and marched out of his office.

Winn and James looked at each other. "I'm getting a bad feeling, James," Winn offered.

"I can handle Cat," James tossed out with forced conviction.

"Well, in spite of me not believing that, at all, I was actually talking about Kara. Did you call her or Alex again this morning?" Winn asked, earning an incredulous look.

"Do you really think I'd actually step foot into CATCO without having called again?" James asked with irritation, causing Winn to hold his hands up in surrender. "I keep getting their voice mail. I even went to Kara's last night and on the way into work this morning and she wasn't home," he grumbled.

"What if . . . we visit the DEO?" Winn offered hesitantly. "We might get some information on what's going on," he said with a shrug.

James nodded.

SGSGSG

James slowly drove towards the gate entrance and stopped. He glanced at Winn, who smiled uncomfortably as they became the focus of the three, well-armed guards protecting the DEO's desert base entrance. "I didn't see the guardhouse manned the last time we were here." Winn noted curiously, getting an uneasy nod from James.

Rolling down his window, James smiled to the guard who approached his SUV.

"This is a restricted area," the guard announced, causing both visitors to slowly raise their hands to show they were no danger.

"Uh, we need to speak with Agent Danvers," James said, holding up the CATCO ID on his lanyard.

Winn frowned, not having his ID at the ready. Worried the guard might think he was grabbing for a gun, he hesitated from immediately retrieving it from his back pack. Suddenly realizing he had identification in his shirt pocket, he sighed with relief and pulled it out for inspection.

"Sir, I wasn't notified of any visits from the Press or . . . ," the guard said and paused to look at Winn's ID, "Costco members," he added flatly.

James looked at Winn's ID then Winn, not amused.

"What?! It has a picture!" Winn said defensively.

The guard glanced curiously to the guardhouse, where they checked for any updates to the visitors' list. With a negative response, the guards moved their hands to rest on their sidearms.

"We're not here as Press . . . or Costco members," James said, rolling his eyes. "We're friends of Agent Alex Danvers and need to speak with her."

"You could be friends with the President," the guard said unsympathetically and informed him, "You are not authorized access to the facility unless you are on our visitor's list."

"Hey, uh, could you please at least tell her we're here?" Winn piped up awkwardly just before movement at a bunker caught their attention.

A hundred yards away, double doors swung open. General Lane, in his desert camouflage uniform, and his daughter, dressed in black tactical gear, marched through, flanked by the General's well-armed entourage.

When James recognized them, he honked his horn and called out, "Lucy!"

"Sir!" A guard shouted a caution, pulling out his sidearm.

Both Lanes stared at the gate and SUV. Lucy briefly closed her eyes and sighed heavily. James was another complication she didn't need right now.

"Maybe the horn wasn't such a good idea," Winn whispered uncomfortably. James glared at him.

General Lane's eyes narrowed at the two men in the SUV, one of which once dated his daughter. No matter how many awards he received or how successful he might become, that cape-chasing photographer would never be good enough for his youngest; Jimmy Olsen had never put his daughter first and there was no reason to think he ever would.

"Need I remind you, Major, that civilians require clearance and specific authorization to be apprised of DEO business or enter DEO facilities?" General Lane tersely warned his daughter, who sighed, feeling another headache coming on.

"No, Sir," she responded firmly.

"It's bad enough they know where the base is," he grumbled, shooting a glare to James and the other guy.

SGSG

"He's never liked you, has he?" Winn whispered, noting the glare from the General.

James shook his head, wishing they'd just get a break. There was little chance of that with General Lane around.

SGSG

"See you later, Dad," Lucy said and hugged him.

"Love you, Sweetheart," he said softly as they hugged. "You did a great job as Director," he said, pulling back. "I'm sorry the President decided to reinstate the Martian," he said tightly.

"He's earned it and it's for the best, Dad," Lucy said with conviction, even though being removed from the position still stung.

Sam Lane frowned, having a decidedly different opinion, even though he grudgingly appreciated the Martian's help.

"Really," Lucy stressed confidently, getting a sigh from her father before he reluctantly nodded. Now that the Martian had gotten a pardon and was considered a highly valuable National asset by the President, there was little he could do about his little girl's demotion.

Sam motioned to his personnel he was ready to leave and headed to the caravan of government vehicles.

"Lucy!?" James shouted in frustration and started to get out of his SUV, but was blocked by the guard, who aimed his pistol at him.

"J. . .James!" Winn squeaked and also spotted the General's men aim their weapons at them.

"Sir! I'm not going to warn you again. You must leave the area, or we will use force!" The guard warned.

Lucy briefly glanced towards the commotion at the guardhouse as her headache grew. Looking to her father's departing caravan, she exhaled heavily before heading back into the bunker to take some aspirin and write her status report for the President. She wondered what the chances were that she could convince the recently reinstated director that he should write it.

"James! Do what the nice man with the gun says," Winn hissed nervously, eyeing the guards.

James growled and refastened his seatbelt, blurting "Fine! We're leaving, we're leaving."

As the caravan of black government vehicles rolled slowly past the guardhouse, the back seat window of the General's SUV was down, allowing James to see the familiar disapproving glare.

SGSGSG

A light rapping upon her office door caused Cat to look up from her laptop to find Tweedledee and Tweedledum standing there nervously.

"I hope you have some news for me, Mr. Olsen," Cat said in a clipped tone, taking off her reading glasses and motioning to Winn. "Though, I am wondering why Walter is here."

"Technical support?" Winn offered uncertainly.

"Well?" Cat looked to James.

"I was unable to contact Supergirl . . . ," James admitted with concern, making Cat take a deep breath and start to count to ten. ". . . or any of my sources. I've tried, repeatedly," he said uneasily, then added with frustration, "to be in the dark like this is . . . ,"

"Incredibly annoying? Inadequate? Unacceptable?" Cat supplied quickly and sharply, causing James to wilt.

Cat rolled her eyes before her gaze fell on Winn, prompting the anticipated excuse.

"Oh! Uh, Kara's still feeling sick," he blurted weakly, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably with an even weaker smile.

She supposed she had to give them some credit for their steadfast loyalty to Kara, even if they were as believable as . . . well, Kara herself.

"I see," she said coolly, her gaze shifted between the two before it returned to her laptop. "If you two wish to continue to remain in my employ, would it not behoove you to, oh, I don't know . . . ." she paused, dramatically feigning the need to search for the right words as she tapped a temple tip of her glasses against her pursed lips. "Work?!" she snapped tersely. "Chop, chop!" she said, dismissing them with a few flicks of her hand as she refocused her attention on the personnel file she had just opened on her computer.

Surprised by the stay of execution, James and Winn briefly looked at each other before quickly retreating.

Alone, Cat sat back and exhaled heavily, releasing a bit of her frustration. She should have known that if she wanted something done right, she would have to do it herself. While James may have won a Pulitzer for a Superman photograph, she, after all, was the multi-award-winning reporter who established a multi-award-winning media empire — all without the help of a superhero. Taking a fortifying breath, she picked up her phone and dialed with determination.

"Yeah?" a gravelly voice answered.

"Mr. Edwards, I have need of your surveillance services again," she said, eyeing her laptop screen where Kara's emergency contact information was displayed. "I hope you don't mind sand."

SGSGSG

Cat pushed her food around her dinner plate as she listened to Carter tell her about his finals and confidence in his grades, especially in math and science.

"Well, it's not surprising that you did so well, sweetheart. You've got a brilliant mind and excellent work ethic," Cat said proudly.

"I am your son," Carter joked.

"Well, that goes without saying, darling," Cat responded easily with a smile.

Carter's cell phone buzzed, causing him to pull it out of his pocket to inspect it.

"What have I said about electronic devices at meal time, young man?" Cat said with irritation.

Carter shifted uncomfortably with a pensive look. "Adam just texted me. He said he was okay and would text me later," Carter blurted, looking at his mother apologetically. He knew his mother worried about his brother, but Adam was still being distant.

Cat took in a surprised breath, plastered a smile on her face and nodded. "Good. Good," she managed and took a large sip of wine. She supposed Carter was better than a carrier pigeon . . . .

"I'm sorry he didn't call you," Carter said, feeling bad for his mom.

"Carter," Cat said softly. "I am happy and relieved Adam felt comfortable enough to contact you. And someday, I hope he will feel comfortable enough to reach out to me directly. But you shouldn't be surprised that he's upset with me; I chose to be absent from his life and now he's faced with me trying to have some presence. He has every right to feel what he feels."

"I know. I know," Carter said begrudgingly, looking down at his plate a moment. "But I also feel like he's being an idiot for not trying harder," he said stubbornly, looking at his mother defiantly.

Cat had to smile at his protective streak. "And of course you have every right to your feelings too, darling," she said and added gently, "But please try not to be too hard on your brother."

Carter nodded with a small smile. "Soooo . . . how was your day at work?" He asked, making Cat thankful for the change in topic.

"Well, sadly, it was not as productive as I would have liked," she admitted, lifting her wine glass to her lips for another sip. "And I did have to deal with a few personnel performance disappointments," she added vaguely.

"But no one was fired?" Carter asked with some concern. While his mother's tendency for firing people who did not perform to her exacting standards had been significantly curtailed over the past year, he was well aware the reason for that was not presently around. And he knew Kara would feel guilty if someone got fired while she was gone.

"Not today," Cat responded, though she was sorely tempted. She hated not getting what she asked for. But then, Kara would be very upset if both James and Wynona were gone when she got back, she considered as she sipped her wine again.

"I've been thinking. Maybe I shouldn't go on my trip with Dad," he said hesitantly.

"What? Why not, darling? You've been so looking forward to it," Cat said with concern. "Aren't you feeling well?" She quickly asked, searching his face for any signs of sickness or lingering effects from the previous day's attack.

"I'm fine, mom. It's just . . . maybe I should just be here with you," he said with a small shrug. "Dad and I can go camping anytime," he tossed out.

"Oh, Carter," Cat said, reaching out and taking her son's hand. "That's wonderfully sweet of you, but putting off time with your father isn't necessary, especially after all the planning you two have done. And you might regret missing this opportunity," she said seriously, then added, "If the idiots in Washington don't pass a budget, they might decide to shut down the National Parks again and there goes access to Yellowstone!" She said, dramatically rolling her eyes.

Carter smiled. "Well, there are Continuing Resolutions," he offered, making his mother chuckle.

"Yes, well, be that as it may, just because you can put something off to tomorrow doesn't mean you should. And that goes for both the government and you, young man," Cat said, squeezing her son's hand. "And it really isn't necessary, sweetheart. I want you to enjoy your time with your father."

Carter nodded but he frowned slightly.

Cat sighed. "What if I promise to call you, if there is any news to report?"

Carter looked at his mom with a small nod and smiled. "What's for dessert?"

SGSGSG

Kara remained unmoving in the DEO medical bay, under several bright sunlamps. Various medical equipment and sensors were attached to her, monitoring biometric data and keeping her alive. In a dire duet, the rhythmic hiss of the ventilator accompanied the pulsing swoosh of the ventricular assist device to supply the needed oxygenated blood.

It had been four days since Kara heroically pushed Fort Rozz beyond Earth's orbit, blowing out her powers in the worst place possible - the unforgiving vacuum of space. It took four days before Superman finally woke and reluctantly left for Metropolis, after securing a promise from the Director that he would be kept posted of Kara's condition.

Returning from a break she could no longer avoid, Alex reentered the room and focused on her unnervingly pale sister, who no longer wore the House of El sigil proudly upon her chest. Instead, a flimsy hospital gown now covered her, further accentuating her frailty. No change for four days, Alex considered worriedly, wiping away the frustrating tears spilling from her eyes, not wanting them to be seen.

Both Dr. Hamilton and her mother, Eliza, looked up from the monitors with concern. Alex was not comfortable with emotional displays, especially at work. But they knew Kara's condition was taking a heavy toll on her.

Alex cleared her throat and weakly complained, "Why haven't we seen any improvement by now?"

It was a rhetorical question. They all knew they were in uncharted territory. Even the Alura AI failed to help. Eliza and Dr. Hamilton exchanged troubled looks, wishing they had answers.

Dr. Hamilton repeated the well-known, unchanged status. "There's still some brain activity," she said, all painfully aware it was less than normal for a Kryptonian. The doctor tried to offer something more positive. "She's not . . . declining."

Alex nodded absently at the unsatisfying comment and turned back to her sister. Sitting down on the uncomfortable plastic chair by the bed, she grabbed Kara's unusually cold hand.

SGSGSG

In an alley, a man in jeans and a hoodie waited as a black limousine rolled up and stopped beside him. The backseat window slowly lowered, revealing a distinguished female face.

"Do you have news?" She asked, her intelligent eyes appraising him.

He wasn't sure if her slight smile was meant to be encouraging or threatening. Glancing around, he cleared his throat nervously. "There's no change. She's still in a coma. They are not sure if she'll recover. I'm really sorry I don't have something more useful to report, Dr. Luthor," he said apologetically, once again looking up and down the alley for unwanted visitors.

"Actually, Agent Williams, that is useful information," she said, her dangerous smile broadening.

He exhaled with relief.

SGSGSG

Early the next morning, Dr. Hamilton returned to check on her Kryptonian patient, finding Alex dozing in an awkward position in the chair, still holding Kara's hand.

"Agent Danvers!" the Chief Medical Officer snapped with irritation.

Alex blinked rapidly and sat up, mildly disoriented.

"What have I've told you?! You need to rest properly – in a bed."

"I…I'm fine," Alex sputtered, rubbing her sore neck.

"No, you're not. I gave you warnings before, but I'm done. You are hereby ordered to go home for 24 hours, during which time you will sleep in your bed for at least 8 hours and eat at least one balanced meal," Dr. Hamilton said sternly, annoyed she had allowed Alex's unhealthy behavior to continue this long.

"B…But I need to be here when she…!" Alex sputtered.

"I'm confident Kara is days away from awakening," Dr. Hamilton interjected. "And you are not doing yourself, or her, any favors sleeping here."

"Okay, okay! I'll just grab a bunk next to mom's," Alex negotiated, glancing at the general direction of the barracks.

"This is not the first time we've had this conversation," Dr. Hamilton interrupted. "This is not the first time you've ignored what I've recommended," she said with annoyance.

"I mean it this time. Really." Alex said emphatically. "I'll go now, grab a few hours on a bunk. Promise."

"Not good enough."

"Come on Doc, I…."

"I agree with our CMO," Director J'onn J'onzz said in a booming voice as he entered the room, ". . . who just ordered you to go to your home for the next twenty-four hours and rest properly."

"What?!" Alex protested.

"Keep arguing, or it will be forty-eight," J'onn warned.

"She might wake!" Alex argued, looking helplessly between him and the doctor.

"Not likely for several days, Agent Danvers," Dr. Hamilton stated, adding softly "I think you know that."

"Alex, you need to be ready to deal with her when she does wake," J'onn cautioned. "She killed Non and pushed the last of his followers in sleeping pods into space, which likely sentenced them to death," he said gravely.

"Oh come on, J'onn! Non was a good kill. You know that," Alex said defensively. "And her actions with Fort Rozz were just!" she argued with irritation.

"I agree. But we're thinking like soldiers. Kara won't."

Alex deflated and looked at her sister, knowing that her actions would likely weigh heavily on her, in spite of having saved billions of humans. She growled with annoyance, knowing Kara had given everything she had for her adopted planet, possibly including her very own life.

"How can we even begin to thank her?" Alex murmured uneasily.

"By taking care of yourself so you can be there for her when she needs you," Dr. Hamilton quickly responded in that annoying, doctorly way.

"You'll call if she wakes?" Alex asked, looking at her boss, who quickly promised, "You will be called if there is any change in her condition."

Alex nodded in defeat and reluctantly left.