"Alex, you may want to see this." Vasquez said approaching her boss her few days later.
"What is it?"
"Over the last few weeks online hate groups have been getting more vocal on the dark web." Vasquez said.
"What type of hate groups?"
"Alien haters, meta haters, non meta haters. There are plenty. But, we have been monitoring and things are changing."
"I assume not in a good way?"
"No. Supergirl is becoming the common enemy across all the groups."
"What? Why?"
"Doing too much to protect metas, not doing enough to protect metas, siding with aliens, siding with humans, si-"
"Okay I get the picture." Alex said. "Any sign anything is leaking out of the dark virtual world and onto the normal web?"
"Not so far, on the Supergirl front. And so far the kid's death in the fire doesn't seem to have had an impact on these groups. Which seems a little strange. It is like these are written in isolation from the real world."
"Some sort of AI?" Alex asked.
"Maybe. And if the author was worried about Supergirl's actions swaying the populous in her favour it would make sense to cut off any chat bots from real news feeds."
"Only does that mean whoever is behind this is not behind the fire and the framing her for murder?" Alex asked.
"We have to consider it." Vasquez said. "And before you ask, we still having nothing on Lex. There is nothing to suggest he is involved in either plot."
"Keep monitoring." Alex said. "I'll talk to Kara."
"Might want to talk to Cat as well. While the Supergirl being public enemy number one is confined to the chats, the hate groups are growing on the streets. Every night there are fights and attacks."
00
"How was the weekend?" Cat asked when Kara entered her office.
"It was good."
"Yet you look like someone stole your lunch."
"That's not to do with the weekend."
"The dead boy?" Cat guessed.
"Yes, no. I mean in part. But it is more than that. Supergirl is becoming public enemy number one. But I haven't done anything to deserve it."
"You think someone is pulling the strings" Cat asked.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I mean I could believe it, but it sounds a little paranoid. Then again seeing what Indomitable managed to achieve I am not overlooking anything."
"Seems wise." Cat said.
"So what do I do? Cut back? Do more?" Kara asked.
"The truth is, if this is being manipulated, no matter what you do there will be backlash." Cat said. "My advice is just keep being true to yourself and trust your instincts." She added before sitting forward. "And remember, changing the narrative isn't your job. It's my job."
"You think Lex could be behind this?" Kara asked.
"If he is it is a good thing." Cat said.
"Why?" Kara questioned.
"There is no way he'd win a media war against me."
00
"I thought you were working tonight?" Kara asked when Steve entered the apartment.
"I was. My shift ended about twenty minutes ago." He said causing Kara to look at a clock. "Lost track of time?" He guessed before pointing to the laptop in front of Kara and asking. "What are you working on?"
"Just reading all the posts." Kara said.
"Which posts?" He asked moving over to her and looking over her shoulder. Seeing the screen he added. "You shouldn't be reading that."
"If I understand why they hate me, maybe I can fix it." Kara said.
"Kara, the people commenting on those forums are idiots and are beyond help." Steve said kissing her head.
"You sound like Cat." Kara pointed out.
"Not sure how to take that." Steve said as Chewie started to scratch at Steve's leg. "Have you two eaten?" He asked.
"Shoot. Sorry Chewie." Kara said looking down at the dog.
"Why don't you feed Chewie and I'll make you dinner?" Steve suggested as he closed her laptop.
"But you have just finished work." Kara said feeling guilty.
"Which means I also need to eat." He said as he helped Kara to her feet.
"Thank you." Kara said.
"Where's your sister?"
"Still at work. She was called into a late call with the FBI."
"About all the hate groups?" Steve guessed.
"Yes."
"When is she getting back?"
"She said about ten. But she hasn't called to say she was back."
"Lights were off as well." Steve said. "After you have fed Chewie, call her and I will make enough food for all of us." He said opening the fridge. "Or not. Where's the food? I thought you said you went shopping."
"I did." She said pointing to the bin which was full of doughnut boxes.
"You are hopeless." He said. "I'll order pizza. Tell Alex she has thirty minutes." He added as he placed an order. He then asked. "How are things in Boston?"
"Okay, I guess."
"That doesn't sound convincing." Steve said.
"Has Martin said anything to you?" Kara asked.
"About what?"
"I don't know exactly." Kara sighed. "Maybe it is nothing, but Alex sounded really down tonight."
"She say why?"
"It's all the hate groups that are springing up. I don't know, maybe she is taking them personally."
"Are there anti alien ones?" Steve asked.
"Not that she mentioned, but I think the whole thing is getting to her."
"It is getting to you too." Steve reminded her.
"I kinda signed up for it. Alex didn't."
"Neither of you signed up for it. And the fact you get these idiots directing hate to you is terrible." Steve said. "I know it won't fix anything, but how about we finally take that trip we have been talking about?"
"It sounds nice, but not necessarily practical." Kara said as her phone buzzed. "I have to go. I'll be back soon." She said kissing him before flying off.
00
"How'd it go?" Steve asked when Alex entered the apartment.
"It was just a sitrep and kinda like we expected. The city is full of idiots."
"Yeah, Kara was reading some bad posts tonight."
"Where is she now?"
"Supergirl thing. She should be back soon."
"How was she?" Alex said sitting down.
"Distracted." Steve stated simply. "I didn't want to add to Kara's worries, but there are many more people coming into the hospital having been attacked."
"I know, that came up on the call tonight." Alex said. "Despite the lack of police reports, the hospital numbers don't lie."
"What is a little strange is the numbers are strange. We are starting to see a lot more metas come in." Steve said. "Previously metas have stayed away from hospitals."
"I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing." Alex said.
"Neither do I, but I thought you'd want to know."
"Thanks." Alex said before asking. "Don't suppose you know if they have always been metas or whether they were given powers?"
"No. Unless they were previous patients I wouldn't know how to figure it out, even then records may not be accurate." Steve pointed out as Kara flew back in through the window.
"Hey, everything okay?" Kara asked her sister.
"It's fine." Alex said. "How was it out there?"
"It was a friendly crowd who appreciated the help." Kara shrugged as the doorbell rang.
"That will be the pizza." Steve said moving to the door. As he did Alex's phone started to ring.
"Danvers." She answered as Steve approached with the pizzas. As he walked towards the sisters he noticed the frown on Alex's face and the sadness in Kara's eyes.
"Thanks for letting me know. I'll see you tomorrow." Alex said ending the call before Steve asked.
"What happened?"
"The last of the babies died." Alex explained.
"I'm sorry." Steve said putting the boxes down and hugging Kara.