"Mother told me a couple years ago, Sweetheart, settle down and marry a rich man. I said, Mom, I am a rich man."
- Cher
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HENRY ALLEN WAS HERE
SO WAS BARRY
IIIIIII IIII
Destruction. Fire. Three Worldkillers.
Kara gasped awake, startled from a nightmare. The morning sun glittered through the window of her bedroom, gleaming onto the panting blonde. She combed her fingers through her hair, slowly calming down before she looked next to the cold and empty side where Barry was suppose to be. She sighed, focusing on what she needed to do that day.
The DEO
After Kara had gotten dressed for the day, she immediately went to the government building, strutting her way towards where J'onn and Winn were. "Worldkillers are still out there," she said.
"The city has been quiet ever since you got back from Fort Rozz," J'onn said as Winn turned towards them from his seat.
"Yeah, I mean, we've been trying to track Kryptonian heat signatures, but all we're coming up with is you and your cousin. Which, I will say though, is nice, because I know where he is," Winn explained.
"Well, shouldn't they be reading like they're me, basically?" Kara questioned right before Mon-El walked into the room, standing next to Kara.
"They're not like you," he said and Kara stared at him confused. "They may have been created on Krypton, but these Worldkillers are not, strictly speaking, Kryptonian."
"Mon-El's right. Nothing about them follows a pattern we recognize. Reign didn't need a yellow sun or a Fort Rozz to retain her powers," J'onn said.
"Yeah, and the way she just shrugged off that Kryptonite...hey, but maybe they were genetically modified," Winn said and Mon pointed at him for a moment.
"Now, that's possible," he agreed. "The Legion's fought many hybrids that were created in labs designed to have maximum destruction. Originally inspired by the-" but he stopped himself before looking back at Kara.
She stared at him confused, not knowing that he was going to say 'Barry and Kara's future kids'.
"...nevermind."
"Well, Reign said she left Krypton right before it exploded. If they've been here all this time, what have they been waiting for?" Kara asked, trying to ignore her suspicion for Mon.
"Maybe for her," Winn said as he typed on his computer, pulling him footage of Reign onto the screens.
"You know," Mon said as he walked up towards the screens. "When Krypton exploded, pods weren't the only thing that rained down on Earth. So did Kryptonite. Brainy had to track some of that green stuff down when the Legion battled Zod."
And from that, Kara and Winn both stared at him taken back.
"Um, rewind. Zod?" Winn asked and Mon looked back at him as he got up. "Superman killed him, so...was he resurrected?" But Mon just stared at him, not saying a word. "He was. But that's the future...we talked about that," he then imaginary zipped his mouth with his fingers. "So, you're saying, basically, that the Kryptonite and the pods came at the same time."
"Agent Schott, see if you can pull our records of those meteor showers and map their spray pattern," J'onn told Winn. "There might be a way we can locate exactly when these Worldkillers first arrived."
"On it," Winn said before he turned back to his desk and Kara walked up to Mon and J'onn.
"Reign will be back. Soon," She sternly said.
"What do you think she's doing?" J'onn asked.
"Well, wherever she is, she's planning her next move," Kara said.
L-Corp
Alex walked into a MRI room in the building's lab with Sam, who was wearing a hospital gown. "So, you were a doctor before you joined the FBI?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. I was gonna be a researcher, so I had a job actually in Seattle for a while. And then, as it turns out, I needed a little more action than just a microscope and an Excel spreadsheet," Alex explained and Sam smiled before she sat up on the MRI bed.
"Well, thank you very much for doing this," Sam said.
"You're sure it's okay that we use the L-Corp lab?" Alex asked.
"I am. No one will be here for a while," Sam assured before Alex grabbed a head ledger and a very heavy sheet. "Sorry, I just don't like hospitals. Hate being sick. Hate tests."
"Well, MRI's don't hurt," Alex said as she placed the ledger towards the end of the bed. "All right, put your legs." Sam laid down, placing her head against the ledger and stared up at Alex nervously, not sure what the results will be.
"So, I looked up my symptoms," she said as Alex placed the sheet over her body. "Memory loss, headaches, it could be really bad. Like, brain tumor bad. ALS."
"You know what else causes memory loss? Caffeine withdrawal," Alex said which stroke a smile onto Sam. "Yikes. Which is why we're taking pictures. Okay? We're gonna find out what's going on, and when we do, we're gonna deal with it. Whatever it is. Okay?"
"All right," Sam softly said. She deeply breathed once Alex left to the other room, telling herself everything was going to be okay.
CatCo Worldwide Media
When Kara got to work that day, she found that James had already started a meeting with Ella Teschmacher, Iris, and some other reporters as well. "DOC rounded up most of the prisoners who escaped Albatross Bay during Reign's attack except Thomas Coville," Iris informed as Kara walked up next to her.
"Let's see if we can get a quote from the warden on the record. Art department, what's up?" James asked but right then, Lena Luthor walked in.
"The Parks Conservancy is having a black-tie gala tonight," she said as she walked up on the other side of Iris. "All the city's major donors are gonna be there. I feel like an ace reporter would be able to find a story."
"Okay, you guys heard the boss. Who's headed to the gala?" James asked but right then, a pair of keys was thrown towards the group.
"I got a story for ya!"
Iris turned around, gasped to find Kara's fist right behind her, having caught the pair of keys. But the two, along with everyone else saw Morgan Edge, but he was completely torn. His clothes, some parts of his skin, and he looked battered.
"Woah," Iris muttered, crossing her arms. "What happened to you?"
"I survived," Edge said.
"Survived what?" Kara asked.
"An attempt on my life," Edge said but they all stared at him confused. "How about this, why don't you try fifteen-hundred words on how this deranged trust-fund baby hacked into my car and tried to steer me off the edge of this damn city."
"Wait, wait, you're accusing me of trying to kill you?" Lena asked, trying to stop herself from laughing. "Oh, that's rich."
"Look, whatever happened to you, Lena had nothing to do with it," James said.
"Yeah, so why don't you just turn around and go accuse one of the other fifty people who despise you in this city," Kara said.
"More like fifty-thousand," Iris added and he smacked a glare in her direction.
"She shows up where I have breakfast, hangs out at the valet stand just a little bit too long, tells me to go, what was it, Burn in hell? And then somehow, mysteriously, my car steers itself off the road, explodes into the water. Coincidence? I don't think so," Edge explained.
"I don't put hits on people no matter how much I despise them," Lena told him.
"That's right, you like to do the dirty work yourself," Edge said and Lena eyed him sternly. "Here I am, sister. Why don't you man up and finish the job?"
"Why don't you find the exit, or I'll find it for you," James threatened but Edge kept her eyes on Lena.
"You better get ready to finish what you started, because you wound me up and I'm not gonna rest until it's over. And I never lose. Got it?" He said but then Iris cut in in front of Lena, glaring the white man down.
"Like boss man said, get the hell out," she said and he glared before he walked off.
———
Just minutes later, James walked into his office where Iris and Kara sat on the couch while Lena stood, rubbing her temples stressed. "He's gone," James informed the girls. "And security knows better than to let him in again."
"He's not gonna come back and try again in person. This was an uncharacteristic outburst," Lena said as James walked up next to her. "I've never seen him so angry. He's gonna come back at me twice as hard. This is never gonna stop."
"But you're not the one who is trying to kill him," Iris said.
"No. He's tried to kill Lena plenty of times and she's never retaliated," James said.
"So, someone out there is trying to kill him," Iris said.
"He's got no shortage of enemies, but, like you said, this is uncharacteristic for him. Edge is too good at covering his tracks to have somebody build a case against him," James said.
"I mean, we don't even have enough for a damning story," Kara added.
"We should really be focused on this car hack," James said.
"Yeah, you're right," Kara said.
"I'm just tired of this cycle of violence, okay? I just want these threats, these attacks, these recriminations...You know, I've seen it ruin my mother's life and my brother's. I just want it to stop," Lena explained.
"Well, that's what we're here for. Let your friends help you," Iris said and Lena hesitantly nodded.
L-Corp
After all the tests, Sam and Alex stared at the readings Alex took from Sam's brain. But she saw...absolutely nothing wrong.
"So, what do you see?" Sam asked.
"Nothing," Alex answered.
"Is that a good thing?" Sam asked.
"Well, it's neither good nor bad. It just means that whatever's causing the blackouts isn't showing up on the images," Alex told her and Sam sighed.
"Okay. So, where do we go from here?" She asked and Alex faced her.
"We send the images to an expert along with some blood work," she told her before she placed some safety gloves on, but saw Sam quietly fiddling with her gown. "Are you okay? What are you thinking'?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired of all the lying. Lies to Lena about my whereabouts, about the press conferences and the board meetings, and the earning calls, and just all of it," Sam explained before Alex grabbed a tourniquet and wrapped it around Sam's upper vein. "I lie and I tell her everything's fine."
"I thought you told her about the work trip?" Alex asked.
"I told her that my adopted mother was in the hospital. So, that's a lie on a lie on a lie," Sam told her.
"So, maybe it's time for some truth," Alex said as she disinfected the area on Sam's arm.
"The truth is that I'm becoming a burden. To Lena. To L-Corp. To you. To my friends. To my daughter. I don't wanna be that person," Sam told her before Alex pulled out a purple sample tube, and a hub attached it to with a safety needle in it. "I'm afraid of needles."
"It's really not that bad. I'm gonna make it painless," Alex said but Sam looked the opposite way of where her was.
"Can you make it quick?" She asked.
"Okay," Alex whispered before she inserted the the needle hub into the vein before she put the tube inside the hub, which collected all the blood she needed. "Hmm? See? Painless."
Once she took the needle out, she then began to clean Sam's wound.
"Your being sick isn't a burden to anyone. Lena might be your boss, but she's also your friend. So, maybe you should try letting her in."
"Alex, I've handled everything on my own since I was sixteen. Ruby, college, work, everything. Been white-knuckling my whole life. It's bad enough I included you in all these problems. So, I'm — I'll be fine," Sam said.
"I know what it's like to be afraid to let other people in. I have always been used to dealing with things in my life on my own. So, after Maggie and I broke up, the thought of talking about it was terrifying. But Kara being Kara, she wouldn't let me shut down. She forced me to let her in so that we could figure things out together. And when her husband was sent to jail, me and Iris did the same for her. That's the only way we are getting through any of this. And I am not about to let you make the same mistake that I almost made," Alex explained and Sam nodded hesitantly as a small tear flickered down her cheek.
"Okay...I'll talk to Kara, Iris and Lena today," Sam softly said.
"Now, that is a good choice," Alex said before she handed Sam a lollipop.
"I get a lollipop?" She asked with a smile, taking it.
"You get a lollipop," Alex said.
"I'll take it," Sam said before she unwrapped it. "It's my favorite."
CatCo Worldwide Media
Hours later, Iris, Lena, and James watched as Kara got off the phone with someone and looked back at the three. "That was my source at NCPD. They just salvaged Edge's car and there's no sign of tampering," She told them.
"You think Edge did this himself? Why? To frame me?" Len asked.
"Edge is crazy, but he's not suicidal," James said.
"Well, whoever hacked his car, it's above and beyond anything the NCPD has ever dealt with," Kara said.
"What about the guy who hacked Maxwell Lord's limousine and tried to drive him off a cliff?" James asked.
"Yeah, I thought of that guy too, but there's no connection to Edge," Kara said.
"Man, do I not miss that guy," Iris muttered as Ella walked in, handing Lena's coffee.
"Ms. Luthor, the usual," she said.
"Thanks, Ella," Lena said and the curly haired blonde smiled before she left the office again. "Guys, listen, we've been at this for hours, how do we not have any leads?" She got up and headed towards the balcony of the office as she sipped some of her coffee.
"Maybe we're barking up the wrong tree. Well, we can start with the attempts on your life," James said walking after her, but Lena felt and looked like she was about to throw her guts out. "And maybe that'll get us into Edge's inner circle and look for new suspects—"
Suddenly, Lena collapsed, shaking horribly while white foam poured out from her mouth.
Iris gasped, running onto the balcony with Kara as the Kryptonian took her glasses off. "Lena!" Iris exclaimed.
"It's poison," Kara said before she looked at Iris and James. "Go, I've got her."
Iris and James ran off as Kara picked Lena off from the ground. "Ella! Ella!" James called and his assistant quickly ran back in. "The coffee?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Olsen, did you want one too?" She asked.
"No, where did you get it from?" James asked.
"The cart, where I always get it," Ella said, staring at the confused, especially when they ran off together.
When they got down to the last level of the building, Iris and James together stormed out to find the coffee cart empty. They then turned around to find a man in a black leather jacket, having had held a red barista apron. The two definitely knew it was him when he threw the apron and sprinted off.
James took off after him, but Iris quickly took her heels off, not being able to run with them on. But once they were in hand, Iris took off after the culprit as well.
He jumped over a ramp and James did as well while Iris ran around the corner. But when she was about to be on the same sidewalk as the two, she heard gunshots so she froze behind the wall for a moment.
When she peeked around she saw the culprit continuing to run off, and James after him. So Iris ran also.
She ended up going around a corner and caught up with the culprit when he was running through a CatCo café. She yanked one of her heels right at him, and it smacked him right in the back of his head. He froze for a moment, rubbing the back of his head wincing.
When he turned around to see who it was, he was met with a punch by James, who jumped at him out from no where. The guy backed up for a moment, but when he pulled his gun on the two, he suddenly collapsed. Iris gasped as James panted, both of them confused what happened.
James bent down, shaking the culprit, yelling, "What did you give her?! What did you give her?!" But they both knew...he was dead. Someone assassinated him.
The DEO
When Kara flew in through the balcony, she immediately placed Lena on top of a gurney while Doctors, EMTs and Alex ran up to her. "What happened?" Alex asked.
"Edge tried to poison her, it was in her coffee," Kara informed while they began hooking the seizing Lena up.
"Two-hundred milligrams phenobarbital, stat," Alex ordered while she placed a oxygen mask over Lena's face area and the EMTs wrapped a tourniquet around Lena's arm. "Come on, Lena. Calm down, calm down. Two liters of saline, run it open. I want a radial artery line and two red tox."
"Blood pressure, 70 over palp. Pulse is 30 and falling," the doctor said, seeing Lena's heart rate on the monitor she was hooked up to.
"I need to know what poison he used," Alex said as she grabbed a stethoscope.
"I...I...I don't know," Kara stammered, still standing nearby.
"Mustard gas, cyanide, strychnine," Alex muttered to herself, checking Lena's heart, before she bent down, opened up Lena's mask a little and smelled her breath. "...almonds. That's cyanide. Fifty mils of sodium thiosulfate. How long has it been?"
"About two, three minutes," Kara said as Alex pressed her hand against Lena's side.
"Cyanide is circulating through her system. Her brain and her heart are going to shut down," Alex said as she placed the stethoscope around her neck. "I need to slow down her circulation in order for this to work."
"How do you slow it down?" Kara asked.
"Induce hypothermia," Alex told her.
"I can do it. Let me do it," Kara said before she walked over next to Alex. She then softly blew out her freeze breath onto Lena while Alex checked the monitor.
"Okay, that's good," Alex said and Kara stopped, looking back at the monitor as well.
100 - critical
"Come on, come on, come on," Kara whispered to herself.
"Come on, Lena," Alex muttered.
94 - critical
88 - critical
72 - critical
67 - critical
63 - critical
60 - critical
54 - normal
Body temperature: 89° Fahrenheit
"Normal sinus rhythm," and Kara sighed in deep relief. "You saved her."
"No, we did," Kara said.