"You gotta train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you'll lose yourself everytime."
- unknown
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♪ This ♪
♪ This music makes me cry ♪
♪ It sounds just like my soul, oh ♪
♪ Oh, I'm not ready to win ♪
♪ Oh, Lord, cause I don't wanna know what they say ♪
♪ Cause I get carried away ♪
♪ Commodifying all the pain ♪
♪ The things they see in me, I cannot see myself ♪
♪ When you get bored of me, I'll be back on the shelf ♪
♪ And when the ocean rises up above the ground ♪
♪ Baby, I'll drown in... ♪
♪ California ♪
♪ I didn't think you'd end up treating me so bad ♪
♪ Oh, I, oh, I Oh, na, na, na, ne ♪
♪ Oh, I, oh, I Oh, na, na, na, ne ♪
Lena walked off the elevator into CatCo, to immediately be greeted with Ella Teschmacher at her desk. "Ms. Luthor, it's so nice to see you," Ella said and Lena looked at her with a smile.
"Ella Teschmacher, right?" She asked and Ella exclaimed happily while Lena laughed.
"Sorry, my sister and I are huge admirers of yours," Ella said.
"Thank you, Ella," Lena said.
"Oh, uh, can I get you a coffee? You take it black, right?" Ella asked and Lena gave her an odd look. "I'm not stalking you. I emailed your assistant at L-Corp about all your favorite things — I hate salmon, too."
"Well, thank you," Lena said with a laugh. "Yes, a coffee would be lovely."
"Great," Ella said before she started to head for the normal elevators.
"Ella," Lena said and the blonde looked back at her. "Why don't you just use this elevator?" She gestured to the elevator behind her, that she just used. "It'll go straight to the ground floor."
"Oh, no, only the boss can use it," Ella said.
"That's just silly. Anybody who needs it should be able to use it," Lena said and Ella nervously smiled.
"Well, all right," she said before she walked up to the fancy elevator right as James walked up to Lena.
"Ms. Luthor," James said and Lena smiled as she also walked up to him. "I didn't know you'd be here this morning."
"Yeah, I was able to get things in line over at L-Corp," Lena said.
"That's good. I wanna say thanks again for saving CatCo. And we should really figure out a way to get you up to speed on what's happening here. I was thinking weekly meetings or-" James started.
"There's no need. I'll be here every day," Lena said before she walked into his office and James stammered to himself before following her.
"Every day?" He asked.
"Yeah, I've set things up at L-Corp so I'll be able to dedicate my energies to learning the ins and outs of how things work at CatCo," Lena explained herself and James awkwardly sighed.
"Okay," he muttered before he just as equally awkwardly cleared his throat.
"You seem surprised by this," she added.
"Yeah...yeah," James muttered but then Kara and Iris walked into the office.
"Lena, welcome to CatCo," Kara said as she handed Lena a planner with a bow on top of it.
"You didn't have to do that," Lena said as she took it with gratitude.
"It's a Danvers family tradition. First day of school — you get a planner," Kara said and Lena smiled.
"Yeah, I got one too. It's been very helpful," Iris said.
"Yes, it's lovely. In the Luthor house on the first day, we would hire a private investigator to make sure our teacher's credentials were up-to-date," Lena said and they all laughed. But James then faced Kara and Iris.
"So, you knew that Ms. Luthor would be here today?" He asked and the two stared at him confused.
"Well, yeah," Iris said.
"She texted us this morning," Kara said.
"I should've communicated more clearly, Mr. Olsen. I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Lena said.
"No, no, no. It's no...I mean I feel bad because we just...We're just not ready for a change in management. We don't even have an office for you, but I-" James started, but once again, Lena cut him off.
"Oh, no, that's fine. I won't be needing a office," she said as she walked towards the doors of the office then stopped and faced the three. "It's this new trend in CEOs, we like to roam free, ask questions, and hear unfiltered conversations." But suddenly Kara's phone started to ring and she pulled it out. "That way we can understand how things are working. It's much easier when you don't have a desk."
"Won't your feet hurt?" Iris asked quietly but Lena laughed before looking at Kara.
"Kara, do you think you might be able to get me the dossier on the Edge investigation, please?" She asked.
"Uh, there's actually something I have to deal with. Can I get it for you later? Is that okay?" Kara asked.
"Sure, yeah," Lena said.
"Sorry," Kara said before she politely excused herself from the office.
"Not a problem, um," James said before he cleared his throat. "Ms. Luthor, I'd be happy to have someone else do that for you."
"Like me. I can go do that," Iris said.
"No, no, it's fine, I can get it," Lena said before she walked out of the office and Iris stared awkwardly while James seemed uncomfortable.
"I'm just...gonna go to my desk," Iris muttered before she headed towards her desk.
The DEO
Winn watched as Maggie followed Alex around in absolute anger. "It is not a personal attack on your taste," Alex said before she stopped and faced her fiancée.
"I wasn't even thinking that until you just suggested it," Maggie said.
"It's a fact," Alex said and Maggie scoffed, then Alex looked at Winn. "Okay, Winn, back me up."
"Hmm?" Winn hummed, trying to act like he hadn't been listening. "I don't think that I should get involved."
"Because you're on my side, aren't you?" Maggie said and Alex scoffed.
"Oh, yeah, right," Alex said but Winn stared at her awkwardly.
"Well," he muttered before he slowly walked away from the two.
"What? W-W-Wi...wait...I saved your life," Alex stammered.
"Yeah, but like, so has everybody else here," Winn said.
"Don't try to make him feel bad for siding with me," Maggie said and Alex faced her again.
"What, did you pay him to agree with you?" Alex asked.
"Oh, now you're accusing me of-" Maggie started.
"Well, if the shoe fits-" Alex started.
"Hey, hey, hey!" J'onn yelled as he walked up to the girls, and they faced him. "What is all this about?"
"We can't agree on one very important wedding detail," Alex said and J'onn eyed her. "Band or DJ."
J'onn sighed before he started to walk around the counter. "The human mind reacts to music very much like other stimuli. Tastes, smells. If the song doesn't sound exactly the way you're used to hearing it, you enjoy it less, and are, therefore, less likely to get jiggy on the dance floor. I say DJ," J'onn explained.
"Oh, yes!" Alex exclaimed happily.
"Come on," Maggie muttered.
"Did you just say jiggy?" Winn asked as Supergirl flew in.
"What was the general alert for?" She asked and Winn stared at her confused.
"Wait, you get the general alerts? That's just for the analysts I think," Winn said.
"No, I had them add me to the distro list," Supergirl said and Alex gave her an odd look. "I want to know what's going on with the city at all times. I do the same with Central City."
"Is that where you were this morning?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, Cisco, he thought he...it doesn't matter. What's happening?" Supergirl asked.
"Detective Sawyer brought this in this morning," J'onn said before he looked at Winn. "Mr. Schott."
"Yeah, well, we analysts thought we might be able to see something the cops didn't," Winn said before he pulled up security footage up on the screen of several different robberies by one person.
"She hit two banks back-to-back," Maggie said.
"Where are the guards?" Supergirl asked.
"Unconscious on the floor," Alex said.
"Any leads on how she took 'em out?" Supergirl asked.
"Well, we thought it might be gas," Winn said.
"But toxicity came back negative," Maggie said.
"According to report, she walked right in the front door," J'onn said before he looked back at Supergirl. "No weapons of any kind. Everyone just cleared out of her way, let her take whatever she wanted."
"Whoa," Winn said as he noticed something on his tablet. "We got a silent alarm tripped at 25th and Cedar."
"Looks like that's our new friend," Supergirl said.
25th and Cedar
Supergirl flew into the bank vault, standing right behind a blonde robber, wearing all black, taking lots of stacks of cash, and putting it in a bag. "I got you cornered," Supergirl said and the woman slowly looked up at the wall she was facing. "Do you?" She asked.
"What did you do to them up there?" Supergirl asked and the woman looked back at her.
"I only wanted to play. But they didn't want to play with me," she said.
"Well, you are not getting away with it," Supergirl said.
"Oh! You think you're the cat and I'm the bird," she said before she turned back around and zipped up her bag. "You got it backwards." She then turned back around towards Supergirl. "You can join me. Maybe then you'd be happy. You see, money equals happiness. More money, more happiness."
"Your priorities are seriously out of whack," Supergirl said.
"I know, right?" She said before she started to laugh chaotically.
"Put the bag down," Supergirl said sternly and the woman sighed in annoyance. She then stared at the hero intensely, walking towards her, and Supergirl felt dizzy. She started tumbling towards the vaults, breathing heavily as the woman just walked out freely. She looked up, and suddenly her surroundings slowly turned into stars, and the red sun, and just terrifying, quiet space. Her arms were outstretched, everywhere she looked, her eyes full of fear, as she slowly started to lean down to the ground.
In the distance, police sirens were heard, but Supergirl couldn't even focus on anything but the space around her. Soon, Maggie appeared in the entrance of the vault, and her breath hitched up as she saw her future sister-in-law on the ground, barely breathing, and her eyes wide opened in fear. "Everyone out of the way! Get out of here now!" Maggie yelled at the officers trying to follow her into the vault. She then put her gun away and ran up to frantic girl, gently touching her face to try and bring her back to the surface. "Hey, Kara, Kara, it's okay, it's okay."
The DEO
Supergirl sat in the med bay as Winn scanned her while Alex and Maggie stood by her, and J'onn by the door. "Okay, the scans of your vitals are coming up normal," Winn said.
"See, I told you, I am fine This is totally unnecessary," Supergirl said before she tried to get up but Alex pulled her back down.
"None of the human victims remember what happened in there. Do you?" Maggie asked and Supergirl slightly pouted as she crossed her legs.
"I don't know. I felt like the walls of the vaults were closing in on me, like I was suffocating," Supergirl explained.
"Sounds like she made you feel claustrophobic," Alex said and Supergirl looked back at her.
"Claustrophobia is a human problem," Supergirl said.
"You used to have episodes like that sometimes when you first came to Earth," Alex said.
"That was a long time ago," Supergirl said before she got up.
"We need to find out who she is and how we track her," She started to walk towards the exit but J'onn stood in her way.
"Well, at the moment, you're our best clue," he said before he stared her down, with his eyes glowing red.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked.
"Hey, I thought you couldn't read Kryptonian minds," Winn said.
"I can't, but I can scan her mind for residual psychic activity," J'onn said.
"Just remind me to get you a World's Best Boss mug," Winn said.
"Well, she's definitely a psychic, but she's not like me," J'onn said before his eyes stopped glowing. "There are traces of a particular type of psionic interference in your mind, the type only used by metahumans."
"That's — great," Supergirl muttered sarcastically.
"Okay, well, I'll start combing through the metahuman database," Winn said.
"In the meantime, I'll monitor potential targets for unusual activity," J'onn said as Supergirl headed for the exit again.
"If we locate her, I'll take her down," Supergirl said before looking back at everyone else.
"It's not safe," Alex said.
"She caught me off guard last time. It's not gonna happen again," Supergirl said before she turned and left.
CatCo Worldwide Media
Kara walked off the elevator, seemingly to look stress, looking through her phone, as James walked up to her. "Hey, how you doing?" James asked and Kara looked up at him.
"I'm okay, I'm running late," Kara said.
"For what?" James asked.
"Uh, Lena called a meeting for the news room," Kara said.
"She did?" James asked.
"Yeah, she didn't tell you?" Kara asked.
"No, she did not," James said.
"Huh," Kara muttered before Lena and Iris walked into the elevator area where the two were at.
"Kara, there you are," Lena said and Iris could just tell Kara was stressed.
"Uh, hey Kara," Iris said.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I tried to make it work, but it just-" Kara started.
"Good meeting?" James asked Lena, cutting Kara off, causing her and Iris to stare at James tensely. "Was it good?"
"Yeah, I was just going around to all the departments, giving them a little pep talk," Lena said and Iris directed her eyes on Kara.
"Hey, K. I really missed you in there," Iris said and Kara gave her an apologetic smile. "You think, that maybe, you're working just a little bit too much?"
But just then, Kara's phone rang and Iris huffed under her breath. "Shoot — I...I have to take this," Kara said before she walked off, and back onto the elevator.
"Where is she going?" Lena asked James and Iris, but Iris just froze.
Luckily, James was experienced on coming up with lies on the spot. "She's a reporter, she is doing her job. Now, did you think that I didn't wanna be there? Is that why you didn't tell me?" James asked and Iris awkwardly looked at Lena.
"Well, to be honest, I thought you would be too busy to act as my chaperone," Lena said, and then Iris looked at James.
"I don't wanna chaperone you. I don't consider myself a chaperone. I consider myself the person who's been running this company for a year," James said and Iris just eyed the two awkwardly. Mom and dad are fighting.
"This conversation has nothing to do with me — I'm just gonna-" Iris said before she quickly walked off towards her desk.
"All right, Mr. Olsen," Lena said with an irritated smirk. "I have a meeting with the advertising department in twenty minutes. I'll see you there."
"See you in nineteen," James said.
"Twenty will be fine," Lena said before she gracefully walked away, and James exhaled in utter annoyance.
National City Savings & Loan's Parking Garage
The blonde woman slowly walked up to a car, with a bag full of money in hand, when she suddenly stopped. She ducked right when a pair of laser vision hit the cement block she hid behind. She dropped her bag and turned around to see Supergirl had found her. "Trying to sneak up on a psychic?" She asked.
"Almost worked," Supergirl said but the woman slightly leaned forward, sending a psychic blast towards the hero. The force brought her down to her knees, her breathing heavily, really trying to not let the woman in her head.
"Supergirl, are you all right?"
The woman started to walk towards Supergirl as the hero got back to her feet, but she stopped when she felt another presence. "Someone else has come to play," the woman said and Supergirl breathed heavily.
"J'onn," she muttered.
"Your friend should be careful," the woman said before she closed her eyes. Supergirl eyed her carefully, as she felt her mind started to slip away from being protected. Then the woman opened her eyes wide, creepy like, and smiling chaotically.
"Just you and me now," the woman said but before she could come any closer, Supergirl used her freeze breath to send her back.
When the woman got back on her feet, she faced Supergirl angrily and sent another psychotic force. It sent Supergirl to the her knees again and cracked the windows of a nearby Jeep. Supergirl couldn't breathe again, and shook terribly as she tried to get up. But everytime she did, she'd tumble back down to the ground. "Mind over matter," the woman said as she slowly started to approach Supergirl. The hero was able to get on her feet, but she was barely able to function with the chilling and crushing fear spreading throughout her. She stared at the woman while she quietly whimpered.
"What are you doing to me?" She asked.
"Fear is a powerful tool," the woman said, but everything around Kara changed again. It turned into a fly out ramp, it was dark, the ground was shaking, and somehow the woman knew her name. "Kara." She continued to whimper, wanting it all to stop, honestly knowing that the only thing that could calm her would be seeing Barry's face again. Hearing his voice. Feeling his warmth. She tumbled to the ground again, and she just wanted to cry. She missed him so much. "Kara."
Supergirl looked up and saw her mother reaching out for her, on Krypton's last day. "Kara, I love you," Alura told her.
"Mom," Kara cried.
"Kara, because of the Earth's yellow sun, you will have great powers on this planet. You will do extraordinary things," Alura explained.
The next thing Kara saw was that she was in her pod, and she was shipped off. She saw that everything around her was being destroyed, everything she ever knew.
Once she was out of the planet, she saw Kal-El's pod, and zoomed off towards Earth. But something went wrong with Kara's ship. She started crying more when Krypton exploded behind her, her ship being knocked off course, spinning around with space rocks surrounding her. But she saw so many different lights in the distance, and heard someone yelling out in pain.
In the present, Supergirl was actually laying on the ground, completely passed out with the woman long gone. "Supergirl — Supergirl!"
Supergirl gasped awake and flipped onto her back breathing heavily. "I'm here!" She called into her comms, before she kept taking deep breaths in and out, reminding herself that she was okay, and what she was saw — she wasn't there anymore. "I'm here."