September 14, 2017 (pregnancy week 28)
Kara found herself in a sunny field of tall grass. She was wearing a white sundress, with a sleeping newborn baby girl strapped to her front. She grinned down at the baby, her heart bursting with love, and she played with the fronds of grass while she walked down the path. She wondered where everyone else was, and as soon as she thought it, Alex appeared behind her, wrapping her arms around Kara’s hips and kissing her on the shoulder. Kara turned her head and gave Alex a tender kiss on the lips. “I love you so much, Alex,” she whispered, trying not to wake the baby.
“I love you too, Angel,” Alex whispered back. “There’s something you should see.” Alex indicated with her eyes that Kara should look down the path. There was a person standing a few feet away watching them.
Kara really looked at the figure and gasped. It was her mother. She walked over and carefully hugged her, mindful of the sleeping baby. Tears slid down her cheeks as she looked back at Alex, and her wife grinned back at her, suddenly surrounded by the rest of the Danvers and three more babies.
Kara was suddenly awoken from her dream by the sound of police sirens, and she realized that she’d fallen asleep in the middle of the sky. Shoot! Now was not the time. They were supposed to be catching a truckload of thieves. She zoomed down to the highway to catch up.
Chief Williams and Detective Lamar Clemmens were chasing a semi truck down the highway. Detective Clemmens leaned out of the passenger side window and shot at the truck, but one of the bandits leaned out of the semi window with a rocket launcher. Chief Williams yanked the detective back in and swerved to avoid the rocket. Unfortunately, the police cars behind them were not prepared for the projectile and ended up spinning out of control.
The truck driver slammed on the brakes, and caught the Chief’s car, dragging them along behind them now. All of a sudden, the back truck door opened and revealed a huge bald man wielding a machine gun turret. The two men braced themselves for being killed, but suddenly Supergirl was taking the hits of the bullets, just letting them ricochet off of her. When the man stopped firing, she punched the barrel off the turret, completely disabling it. The man ran away from her up a ladder to the top of the truck. Supergirl was faster. She stood on the top of the truck and just waited. The man now wielded some sort of electrical prod, and he swung it at her a half dozen times, but she casually ducked every swing. After that, she was bored, and she grabbed the electrical prod, barely feeling the prick of energy. She yanked the weapon out of the man’s hand and punched him off the truck. He crashed through the roof of a nearby car, rolled off, and ran away.
She couldn’t chase after him, though. The truck was careening towards a car stalled in the middle of the road, and she dashed down and stopped the truck just feet away from the car. She turned around to check on the passengers, “Are you guys OK?”
“Supergirl, you’re the best!” the young boy in the backseat exclaimed.
“Thanks,” she said, trying to muster up a smile. She was exhausted, but she didn’t want to put anyone off by being rude.
“Can we take a picture with you?” the boy asked.
She suppressed a sigh. “Sure.” She posed with the family, and then politely excused herself to talk to the Chief of police.
“The guy you fought got away,” Detective Clemmens sighed. “Do you think you can catch him?”
Supergirl looked at the blood on her fist. “I have an idea how to find him. Let me check in with the FBI, and I’ll get back to you.”
The two cops nodded.
“We look forward to hearing from you,” Chief Williams said
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara flew to the DEO. When she got there, Winn was standing at the briefing table smiling at her.
“Cool car chase. Very fast, very furious,” he quipped.
“Any luck IDing the one that got away?” she asked grumpily.
“Oh, still running facial recognition,” Winn shrugged. “So far nothing.”
“Anything else we can go on?” J’onn inquired.
Kara revealed her bloody fist. “This is his. Winn, can you send a sample up to Alex's lab? Maybe his DNA is already in the database.”
“Okay. Well, this is new and gross,” Winn complained, swabbing her hand.
Supergirl sighed. “I should have cuffed him.”
“You knocked him a hundred yards into the roof of that SUV. Not to mention saving Maggie’s boss and partner and that family of civilians.”
“Yeah. And that truck was full of aluminum tubing,” Winn added. “Right? Which doesn't really seem like much until you use it to build an illegal nuclear centrifuge.”
“This is a big win, Supergirl,” J’onn congratulated her.
“It's not a win until they're behind bars,” she replied seriously. “Let's get this guy.” She started walking away, but Alex stopped her.
“Hey, uh... So, tomorrow Mom and I are going to put together the invitations for the baby shower. Wanna help?”
Kara suppressed another sigh and smiled as brightly as she could muster. “Of course. I’ll be there.”
Alex stroked Kara’s cheek with her hand. “You look tired, Angel. Let’s get home and get to bed.”
Kara nodded, nuzzling her face into Alex’s hand. “That sounds lovely.” She picked Alex up bridal style and flew them back to Cat Grant’s.
After the pair was gone, Winn turned to J’onn. “Did you see how tired she looked?”
J’onn crossed his arms in typical fashion, “Yes, I did. I believe she might be overextending herself lately. Between helping to rebuild the city, fighting crime, working for Catco, and taking care of three pregnant wives, I think she’s overdoing it a little.”
“Yeah, I know,” Winn sighed. “I try to help them out when I can, but there’s only so much I can do.”
“Understandable,” J’onn nodded. “Hopefully she gets some sleep tonight.”
XXXXXXXXXXX
The next morning...
“People like to argue that capitalists are only concerned with themselves. The truth is without big business, this city would still be in ruin from those Daxamites. Look at us now. Bustling. I think we all should give ourselves a pat on the back. And, let's not forget to glad-hand the Mayor as well. Without him, none of this could have happened either.”
“It's you, Morgan,” the Mayor replied. “It's all of you. In the last few months, you've done the impossible.”
“Let's not forget Supergirl,” James and Lena said at the same time.
“Literally none of the heavy lifting could've been done without her,” Lena added.
“Yes. Of course. Which is why I'm excited about the unveiling of ‘The Girl of Steel’ statue at the waterfront,” the Mayor said happily.
“Mayor, it's gonna take a lot more than a pretty statue to bring people down to that slum of a waterfront,” Edge pointed out.
“I am still working on the zoning commission, Morgan,” the Mayor informed him.
“You'd do better to explain how my development will revitalize that neighborhood. Starting with moving out homelessness, crime... Moving in opportunity and an expanded tax base.”
“They've all heard your sales pitch, Morgan. We all have,” James said, trying not to roll his eyes.
“Yes. I'm sure that everybody here has had a chance to read CatCo's inflammatory articles about that sales pitch. Articles that have become increasingly biased ever since you took over baby-sitting Cat Grant's mouthpiece.”
“Your development would level the whole area. Force people from their homes, just to build high-rises for the wealthy,” Lena debated.
“Lena... Are you spouting the CatCo company line? Really? Ah... I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering all the good press they've been giving you lately.”
“She's earned that good press by donating millions of dollars to the rebuilding efforts,” James stated.
“Hmm…” Edge smirked. “That's funny because I... I thought it was restitution for what her brother did. Or was it her mother? Or was it Lena? Seeing as how she is the one who brought the aliens here in the first place. A little bit of business advice, Lena... Guilt is not a good business strategy.”
“No?” she said with a raise of her eyebrow.
“No,” Edge replied.
“Neither is exploitation,” Lena challenged.
Morgan stretched his hands out to the sides. “I just want a fair hearing, that's all. I hate to think that any of you here were unfair. Hmm? Now... My people have put together a tremendous spread, just in the office next door. Why don't we all adjourn over there and take a sample of that? Mr. Olsen, you're welcome to join us as well. You know, we can disagree, but still break bread together.”
“You know, Edge, you are not as powerful as you think you are,” Lena said lowly.
“Oh, no? Then what are we doing in my office?” Edge smirked as he walked away.
Lena’s stomach roiled with anger, but she didn’t lash out. Edge wasn’t worth getting worked up over. She already had some killer heartburn from the pregnancy. She turned to James and shook her head.
“Come on, Lena,” James waved her over and put an arm around her. “Let me buy you lunch.”
“You sure you want to do that?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m eating for three.”
“Of course, what are friends for?” he insisted.
“Why, thank you, Mr. Olsen,” Lena purred. “How do you feel about sushi?”
“Love it,” he grinned.
“Let’s go,” Lena smiled back at him. “I know the perfect place.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara, Alex, Maggie and Eliza were sitting at Cat Grant’s kitchen table putting together the invitations for the baby shower. When it came time to address them, Maggie started to get nervous.
Kara took her hand. “Are you OK, honey?”
Maggie took a deep breath and let it out. “Yeah. I want to do this.”
“Just know that whatever happens, we will always love you,” Alex assured her. “You don’t have to worry about being alone. We’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, you guys,” Maggie smiled gratefully at them.
“And I know I’m not your real mom, but you’ll always have me,” Eliza promised.
Maggie’s lip trembled. “That means a lot. Honestly. Thank you, Eliza.” With a shaking hand, she addressed the envelopes to her aunt, and her mother and father. “There. It’s done. My aunt might say she can’t afford it, so if that happens, I’ll pay for her tickets. She was always good to me, especially after my dad dumped me off at her place.”
“Well, as Lena would say, that’s what your new credit card is for,” Alex reminded her.
Maggie shrugged. “Yeah, but I have a ton of money saved up, since Lena won’t let us pay for anything anymore.”
Eliza chuckled. “Yes, that is nice. I really hope your family comes. You deserve it.”
“Thanks again,” Maggie replied, giving Eliza a hug.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
James gathered his news team in his office. “Okay, guys. Look alive. All right, we're about a week away from locking up this issue, so I need to know what's going on. What's up with sports?” he asked, tossing a baseball at a reporter.
“As of last night, the Metropolis Monarchs officially have the worst record in baseball,” the man replied, tossing the ball back to James.
James grimaced. “Crime?”
“There's not much to cover.”
“Crime's been down 65% over the past six months.”
“Supergirl has turned the entire city around pretty much single-handedly.”
James nodded. “Which brings me to my next point… Paul, how are you doing on that exclusive with Supergirl?”
“Oh, uh, Supergirl's been too busy to have a one-on-one conversation about the invasion,” Paul replied.
“The statue dedication is this weekend,” James reminded him.
“I'll do my best,” Paul smiled tightly.
“Well, you have your assignments, right?” James clapped his hands. “Uh... Let's get to work. Thanks.”
When everyone was gone, James picked up his phone and called Kara. The Kryptonian didn’t answer, so he left a voicemail. “Hey, Kara, it’s me James. I was just calling to remind you that you promised me that exclusive about the statue dedication this weekend. Give me a call back. No, scratch that. Call Paul. He’s the one in charge of the article. Hope everything’s OK. Talk to you later.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara and Lena sat on the couch in Lena’s office. Kara sat on one side, and Lena on the other with her feet in Kara’s lap getting a foot massage. When Lena saw what time it was, she turned on the news.
“There's still more I can do to touch people's lives,” Morgan Edge stated.
“What is this blowhard up to now?” Lena groused.
“In that vein, I'd like to announce a bold new direction for my company. I'm buying CatCo. In the last few years the press in this town has swung wildly to one side…”
“I hate that sentient bottle of cheap cologne. Did you know?” Lena asked.
“No,” Kara replied seriously.
“It’s probably because James and I opposed him this morning. Only he would spend that kind of money on a grudge. Do you think Ms. Grant is really going to sell to him?”
“I have no idea,” Kara shook her head.
“Why don’t you call her?” Lena suggested.
“I can’t. She’s in an important meeting right now.”
“OK, well, I’m calling James.” Lena picked up her phone and called their friend.
“Hey, Lena,” James answered. “I assume you heard about Edge?”
“Yes, I did,” she grumbled.
“Well, I did some digging... Edge has been quietly buying up shares until today, when he put a tender offer to the majority shareholders.”
“Hey! No more free press!” she scoffed.
“You've invested in his portfolio though,” James pointed out. “So, I figured if you could talk to him, you might be able to be persuasive.”
“Edge doesn't respect any opinions that aren't his own. Especially not a woman's,” Lena informed him. “Especially not a pregnant woman.”
“Lena... You helped Supergirl save the world. How hard could one stubborn sexist be?” James insisted.
“All right, I'll see what I can do,” she agreed.
“Thanks. Hey, have you seen Kara?” he checked.
Kara shook her head wildly at Lena.
“Uh… No. Nope. I haven’t seen her. Sorry.”
“OK, will you tell her to call me when you see her, please? It’s important.”
“Of course.”
James and Lena hung up their phones.
“Why are you avoiding James?” Lena wanted to know
Kara groaned. “He wants an exclusive with Supergirl before the unveiling of the waterfront statue.”
“And that’s a problem because…?”
“I’m a little busy!” Kara huffed.
“You’re not doing anything right now,” Lena pointed out.
“I’m spending time with my wife for five minutes before I have to run out again!” Kara insisted. “The world isn’t giving me a break right now.”
“Kara,” Lena said gently, “You don’t have to be here right now, if you don’t want to be.
The Kryptonian scoffed. “I do want to be here!”
Lena just looked at her for a moment. “What’s going on with you, my love?”
“...breaking news this morning. There are reports of a burglary in Old Town…”
Kara sighed. “I should get going.”
Lena frowned. “Alright. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Kara said, giving Lena a quick kiss. “See you later.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Miss Grant! How can you possibly sell Catco? That's your life's work!" Kara practically yelled.
Eliza raised her brow at her friend. "You're selling Catco?"
Cat shrugged. "I'm bored with Catco. I want to do something else."
"Like what?" Kara huffed.
"I don't know, Kara, do I have to have a plan?" Cat asked rhetorically.
"But… You didn't even talk to us about it!" Kara argued.
Cat sneered at her, "I'm sorry, was I supposed to ask your permission to sell my own company?"
"Of course not! But a warning that you're selling to the devil would have been nice!" Kara complained.
"Morgan Edge is not the devil. He's just a normal smarmy businessman," Cat debated.
"He's going to ruin everything," Kara argued.
"What would you have me do otherwise?"
"Uh… How about not selling Catco?"
Cat shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Edge made me an offer I couldn't refuse. My mind is made up."
Kara growled in frustration and took off for the skies.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Reporting from downtown National City, it seems Supergirl has been just about everywhere these days…”
“She does know that the cops are occasionally capable of doing their jobs, right?” Maggie rolled her eyes.
“Hey,” Winn announced. “I think we may have tracked down the Merc. I just got an alert. Supergirl's gonna meet us here.”
No sooner than he had spoken, Supergirl appeared.
“You were able to trace the Merc with his blood?” Supergirl asked.
Winn typed on his computer. “Meet Robert DuBois. Goes by Bloodsport, which is not any sport I've ever heard of.”
“What do we know about him?” J'onn wanted to know.
“Oh, you remember those bombings at City Hall, a few years ago? That was him. And, he's been AWOL ever since. He typed some more, and Kara read over his shoulder.
"His file says he's ex-military.”
“Where was he last stationed?” Alex asked.
“Fort Harrison," Winn answered. "Like minutes outside the city."
"He worked security detail," Supergirl read.
"He'd have knowledge of all the ins and outs of the base. He could sneak on, locate weapons, technology, anything he wanted to," J'onn mused.
“Winn, call his CO. See what they know about him," Kara requested.
“Okay." Winn was barely on his computer when he called out, "Whoa, whoa!”
“What?” Alex demanded.
“Okay, the base server is down. This system is scrambled. Somebody hacked it," Winn informed them.
With her hands on her hips, Supergirl was confident. “I've got this.” She flew as fast as she could to the base. When she got there, she found several soldiers laying on the ground, knocked out cold. She used her x-ray vision to look through the building nearest to her, but she couldn't see anything. "Lead…"
She walked across the base and entered what looked like a warehouse. She didn't see anyone inside, but she could hear heartbeats coming from somewhere. She followed the closest one, but there was no one to be seen. Suddenly, she was blasted by some sort of energy beam. It threw her back a hundred yards, and she had to take a second to recover from the pain. The next blast she was ready for. As the beam fired again, she ducked it easily.
"Cover on the right!"
Supergirl watched as two soldiers barreled in and shot at the invisible thing, but it shot them first. She ran at it, and slid across the floor, firing her heat vision until a Daxamite warship appeared in the empty space. As she stared at the ship in shock, two things happened. The first was DuBois climbing out of the ship. The second was a cry for help from the injured soldier behind her.
"Help me! Please... Help me!" he cried.
Kara's compassion got the better of her, and instead of chasing down the criminal, she ran to the soldier, checking him for injuries. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here. I've got you. I've got you. You have no internal injuries. You're gonna be okay."
Suddenly, Supergirl heard a high-frequency beeping, so she took off toward the source. The sound led her to Catco. James must be in trouble. She used her x-ray vision to see what she was dealing with, but James was just standing there drinking casually.
"What's wrong? Why'd you use the signal watch?"
"You didn't get that interview in," he stated plainly.
Kara frowned deeply. "You beepered me for a deadline? That watch is for emergencies only."
"I know what the watch is for, but this feels like an emergency," James insisted. "I'm worried about you, Kara. And, at a certain point in time, I have to be your boss."
"No, don't ever, ever do that again!" Kara said forcefully.
"What? Ask you to do your job?" James snipped.
"I am doing my job!"
"No, Supergirl is doing her job. Kara Danvers has been completely off the radar."
"Oh, I'm sorry, James. I've been a little busy. You know, the world's not gonna save itself."
"But you still have a life. Okay? You still have a job as a reporter. And that life makes you, you."
"No, what makes me, me is Supergirl. That's who I am at my core."
"I disagree," James stated.
"You know something... If I'm expected to put Supergirl on hold just to do this interview for you, then maybe being in the news in any form isn't a good idea.
"What are you saying?" James worried.
"I'm saying I have important things to do. But not here at CatCo. Not as a reporter. Not as Kara Danvers. Not as Supergirl."
"Kara, don't do this."
"I quit."
"Kara…"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"And just when exactly were you gonna notify us that you had a Daxamite war ship in your possession? Alien artifacts are the DEO's purview. You can rest assured I will talk to the President, General Lane. And if anything happens as a result of your overreach, you mark my words, she'll have your stars.” J'onn angrily hung up the phone.
“Respect!" Winn chuckled.
“Whilst I appreciate the nod of confidence, Agent Schott, do you have any words that might actually help me?" J'onn snapped.
“Words, no. Pictures, definitely." Winn threw some pics up on the big screens. "Um... I had the military supplier that DuBois robbed inventory what was taken. It turns out it was not just aluminum rods."
"That's a high pressure regulator, J'onn observed. Aluminum rods were just a cover. That was his real target."
"What would DuBois need it for?" Maggie wanted to know.
"Well, he also stole the cloaking device from the Daxamite ship," Winn replied.
“And how exactly do those two things go together?" Mon-El asked.
“With the regulator, he could stabilize the internal pressure of an F-18 or a B-52 to withstand the force emitted by a cloaking shield." Alex balked.
"Able to retrofit it into a fully cloaked aircraft," Winn added. "Our equipment would not be able to detect that. Not even Supergirl's X-ray vision could pick it up."
"He could drop a nuke from the sky, and nobody in National City would even know he was overhead," Maggie worried.
"Until it's too late," Winn added unhelpfully.
J'onn snapped into Director mode. “Agent Schott, I want every flight in and out of National City scanned for munitions. Air and space."
“Yes, sir."
“Alex, put your team on tactical alert and notify Supergirl."
“Okay."
"Maggie, check in with the Chief of police and let them know what we're dealing with here."
"You got it."
Alex's phone rang before she had time to do anything. "James, what is it?"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Lena, twice in my office in as many days." In a sing-song voice, Morgan Edge said, "People are gonna start talking."
Lena tried not to roll her eyes, but she couldn't help but reply with a snarky comment, “Morgan, you have all the charisma of a Michael Douglas movie from the 90's."
Morgan clearly didn't understand, or possibly didn't care that she was being sarcastic. “You didn't come all this way just to flatter me, did you?"
“I came because I have a proposition," Lena told him.
If possible, Morgan's look was even more smarmy now. “Ooh, good. I do like propositions."
“Now, you know I don't agree with your waterfront development. But you are still the best developer in National City," Lena baited.
Edge's smirk fell a little. “Let me get you a drink before that compliment leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
“Your work is why I have invested in your portfolio and why I intend to invest more," she continued.
“Let me guess... You want me to stay away from CatCo?" Edge guessed.
“Oh, come on, Morgan. CatCo isn't good business for you and you know it. There's a city out there that needs to be rebuilt. That's what you're good at, focus on that."
Morgan grew serious now, with a glint of the devil in his eyes. “You know, you can take the Luthor logo off your name, but people still aren't gonna trust you. And that's a really easy sentiment to reinforce once I have CatCo's editorial under my control. People love to believe what they read."
“Using CatCo to defame your enemies and promote your own agenda," Lena figured. "That's despicable."
"Oh, no. That's good business." Edge's smirk was back.
“I'll see myself out." Lena turned on her heels and fled the presence of that disgusting pig in a fancy suit.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara stomped into the DEO. “What's the update on Bloodsport? Do we know what he stole from the military base?
“You quit?” Alex accused.
Kara sighed heavily. “James has been making the rounds.”
“He's worried about you. I'm extremely worried about you. Since when do you quit?”
“CatCo isn't the point for me anymore.”
“You spent years working your way up to be a reporter!”
“And it was a waste of time.”
Alex scoffed, “I would love to see you tell Cat Grant that.”
“Cat moved on. Why can't I?”
“Okay. This is done. Who are you right now? Kara Danvers doesn't quit.”
“She quits the things that aren't important.”
“CatCo is important! You help people there!”
“Not like Supergirl does.”
“Kara Danvers-”
“Kara Danvers sucks right now! Supergirl is great. Supergirl saved the world. Supergirl has four children on the way. So, if I could choose to be her, why would I ever choose to be the scared girl who’s so exhausted she can’t even do her job? I don't like that girl, Alex.”
“Kara Danvers has four children on the way!” Alex insisted. “That’s my wife you’re talking about. The love of my life! Why would I ever want her to go away? I would do anything to help her. Kara Danvers is my favorite person. She saved me more times than Supergirl ever could. So, just think about that while you're trying to get rid of her.” Alex fought to keep the tears from rolling down her face, but the anguish was clear.
Kara pressed her lips together. “We’ll talk about this later. So, if you have an update about work, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise…”
Alex sighed heavily. “Bloodsport has the capability to cloak a nuke. We're thinking that he's gonna hit the statue unveiling at the waterfront. J'onn wants everyone there."
“I'll be there.”
“Yeah.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Mom, can we wear our suits to the statue unveiling tomorrow?” Jessie begged.
Alex frowned. She was about to say no, but after thinking about it, she relented. They might need an extra couple of Super hands tomorrow. She didn’t divulge that information, though. She just said, “Sure.”
The twins jumped up and down excitedly. “Yes! Thank you!”
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next afternoon...
Kara watched the crowd at the waterfront from her perch on top of a nearby building. There were tons of young girls in mock Supergirl suits. It made her smile. She could see her whole team down on the ground - J’onn, Alex, Maggie, Douglas, Mon-El, Lyra, Vasquez, Amy, and the rest of the DEO agents and cops planted around the area. Even Jamie and Jessie were there in their suits getting all kinds of attention. She chuckled at them. They were having fun signing autographs and taking pictures. After a few minutes, J’onn spotted her and flew up to join her.
“No sign of Bloodsport,” she said.
“It's quiet up here,” J’onn observed. “You know, I rarely flew on Mars. It was for battle, not pleasure. When I first came to Earth, I spent hours up in the sky. It's the only place I could feel empty.”
“Well, that's not what I'm doing up here,” she replied.
“Forgive me for saying, but you seem to be rather stressed of late. And that's not you,” J’onn informed her.
“I tried to be Kara Danvers for 15 years. But I'm not supposed to be her. I'm not supposed to be human.”
“But you have a human heart now. It aches. It scars. But keeps on beating. If you try and cut it out, you will lose something essential,” J’onn reminded her.
“I can't help people if I'm broken.”
“You are not broken,” J’onn insisted. “You're the strongest person I know. You saved me, remember? You taught me that my loss made me stronger. That was Kara Danvers, not Supergirl.
“Do you still dream about them? Your family?” she asked.
“Sometimes,” he nodded.
“Past couple of months, when I dream, I see... I see my mom. I always have a baby in my arms, and I see her, and she gets so happy to see my kids. Then something happens, and they disappear. Sometimes they get kidnapped by Lillian or Jeremiah or Henshaw. Sometimes they just evaporate…” Kara could feel tears pricking her eyes, “Uh... We should keep our eyes on the sky right now.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Alex and Maggie held hands as they walked around the waterfront. They had men everywhere, but they wanted to be there too. Maggie looked somber as they walked, and Alex tugged at her hand and stopped. “Hey. What’s going on with you? You look like someone stole your puppy.”
Maggie sighed. “I don’t know. I’m just scared about inviting my parents to the baby shower. What if they don’t come? What if they do come? I’m scared about both scenarios.”
Alex stood as close to Maggie as their pregnant bellies would allow and stroked the detective’s cheek. “Hey, you don’t have to do this. We haven’t mailed the invitations yet. You can still change your mind.”
Shaking her head, Maggie replied, “I don’t want to be a coward.”
“It’s not cowardice to fear your parents’ rejection all over again. I don’t blame you for being scared. I swear to God, I’ll put my boot right up their asses, if it comes down to it. I don’t care how pregnant I am.”
Maggie chuckled at the imagery. “Thanks, babe.”
“I wish my dad could come,” Alex pouted a little.
Maggie’s face fell. “I’m sorry honey. Is this upsetting you?”
“No,” Alex answered quickly. “I mean, I’ve been getting to see my dad. You haven’t seen yours in how many years?”
“Almost 20.” Maggie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m going through with it. At least I know my aunt will be nice.”
“OK, honey. Just remember that we have your back no matter what.” Alex gave her a nice long kiss to help soothe her. “I love you so much... We love you so much.”
“I love you too, babe.”
“I love you guys too,” Winn said dreamily.
“Shut up, Winn!” Maggie grumbled.
“Winn, get off the coms!” Alex snapped.
Suddenly, Alex was almost knocked off her feet, but Maggie grabbed her before she fell over, and another hand grabbed her from behind.
“Ruby! Rubes, come here, baby. Come here. I don't think that was an apology.” Sam chastised.
Ruby ran back and gave Alex a big hug around her belly. “Sorry, Alex!”
“Totally okay,” Alex assured her, hugging her back. “Thank you for apologizing.”
“Can I go now, Mom? I want to get up close!” Ruby begged.
“Just don't get so far ahead I can't see you, okay?” Sam worried.
“Everybody’s here,” Ruby whined. “I’ll be fine!”
“Alright, go!” Sam rolled her eyes. “Sheesh!” She shook her head as Ruby ran into the crowd. “She’s like this right now, what is she going to be like when she’s an actual teenager?”
“I’m right there with you, girl,” Alex agreed. “You know, the girls wouldn’t let us hang out with them the other night?” The three of them stayed locked in the bedroom all night. The rebellion is starting.” Douglas had spotted Sam and made his way over to them. “Hey, Douglas,” she waved.
“Hey, guys,” he greeted them, giving Sam a kiss. “How are you?”
“Good,” Sam smiled at him.
“So does Ruby know about you two now?” Maggie inquired.
Sam and Douglas nodded. “Yeah, we told her a few weeks ago, after James and Lucy's wedding. I figured, if she can date, I can too,” Sam informed them.
Alex and Maggie laughed. “Good for you,” Maggie said with a dimpled grin. “How’d she take it?”
Sam and Douglas laughed, and Douglas answered, “She said, ‘I knew it!’” animatedly pointing at Sam.
“Ha!” Alex barked a laugh. “Busted.”
Maggie giggled.
Up on the stage, the Mayor cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen of National City, please welcome the chairwoman and CEO of L-Corp, Lena Danvers!”
The crowd cheered wildly.
Lena stepped joyfully up to the podium. “I know you all didn't come here to see me. So, I'll start with the good stuff, and then I'll say just a few very brief words. My fellow citizens of National City, the Girl of Steel!”
The crowd cheered again as the statue was unveiled.
“There you are,” J’onn pointed out to Supergirl.
Lena continued, “I am so honored to be able to present this statue of our hometown hero. Some of you must be thinking, I know. It's a cold day in hell, a Luthor loving a Kryptonian. But ever since I came here, she has been an inspiration to me. She's been a mentor, and most importantly, she's been a friend.”
Kara smiled a real smile at her wife.
“Now would be a good time for you to get down there and join the crowd,” J’onn told her.
Suddenly, there was the sound of an explosion, and the ground started shaking. Everyone in the crowd started screaming and running away.
“Ruby?!” Sam shouted.
“Schott, did you see where that missile came from?” J’onn barked.
Winn answered right away, “We have no heat signature, okay, there's no atmospheric disruption, there's no electromagnetic trail. Alex, have you seen anything?”
“Negative visual contact. It came out of nowhere,” Alex confirmed.
“Let's go, keep moving!” Maggie shouted at the crowd.
Winn scrambled frantically. “Okay, you know what? We're pulling up every security feed within a two-mile radius. There's got to be an origin point for whatever just hit the waterfront.”
“J'onn, can you locate DuBois telepathically?” Kara asked.
“I'll try.” J’onn tried to hear through all the screaming, but it was too much. “I can't sense DuBois' mind.”
“I don't get it. The cloaking device should not be able to cloak a missile,” Winn complained.
“Then what just hit us and where did it come from?” J’onn demanded.
Kara looked around and figured out the problem. “The pressure regulator wasn't meant for high altitude, it was meant for low altitude. They're underwater.”
Another explosion sounded, followed by cracks in the sidewalk and shattered windows in a nearby building.
“I cannot track that explosion to the source, you guys,” Winn informed them. “The radar is not picking up any underwater signals.”
J’onn looked around at the mess. ““I'll clear that building. Mon-El, Lyra, Amy, stay on the waterfront. Supergirl, find that submarine.”
Supergirl hovered above the crowd, looking into the water. She couldn’t see anything, so she zeroed in on her hearing. She filtered through the screaming crowd and the wild traffic, through the water, deeper and deeper until she heard it. Human heartbeats. She dove into the water after them.
“She can't breathe underwater,” Alex worried, holding onto her children.
“Yeah, but she can hold her breath for a really long time,” Maggie assured her.
Supergirl tracked the heartbeats to the source and pressed against the invisible hull of the submarine, rocking the whole thing, and suddenly, the entire ship was visible to her.
“She's found us,” DuBois growled.
“The cloaking device is down,” one of the other men announced.
“Fire!” DuBois shouted.
“We're not locked on,” the man argued.
“Fire now!”
The man obeyed and fired another missile. Supergirl saw it careening through the water, and she swam after it, going as fast as she could to catch up with it, but as soon as she touched it, DuBois gave the order to detonate it.
Back above ground, Sam and Douglas were looking frantically for Ruby. They had an idea where she was, but the crowd was hard to fight through, so it was taking forever to get there. As the ground shook for the third time, Sam fell to the ground, watching as if in slow motion as a giant scaffolding fell right directly on top of her daughter.
“Ruby!” Sam screamed. Douglas helped her up, and they ran towards Ruby’s crying form. “Ruby. Oh, baby. Help!” she shouted to Douglas, trying to lift the scaffolding herself. “Please, help me!”
Douglas tried to help Sam lift the heavy metal bars off of Ruby, but the pair of them weren’t strong enough. Douglas was about to call out for one of the twins, but before he could even get the words out of his mouth, Sam was lifting the scaffolding up, squishing the metal between her hands.
“Oh, Ruby!” Sam cried. “Are you OK?”
“I’m OK,” Ruby replied. “I just hit my head a little bit.”
“Holy shit, babe. What the hell was that?” Douglas asked, eyes wide.
Alex watched the water intently. “Oh, no! Supergirl? Supergirl?”
In the sub, DuBois was ready to be done. “Finish them off.”
“Kara, answer me. Kara?” Alex looked at the twins. This is what she’d feared. “Go,” she told them.
The girls put their game faces on and raced into the water. They could see the submarine stretching for what seemed like miles and miles, but that wasn’t what they were looking for. They spotted Supergirl sinking below the sub and dashed down to catch her. Jamie shook her a little, and she woke up with a start. Kara blinked at them for a minute, then indicated that the twins should follow her back towards the ship.
“Fire!” DuBois ordered.
Kara caught this last missile, shoving it back into the barrel. She pointed her kids to each end of the submarine, and the three of them together lifted it up, and up, and up, until they broke through the water and floated several stories in the air above it.
“Oh, thank God!” Alex sighed in relief. “Good work, you guys!” she shouted to them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara knocked solidly on Lena’s office door.
“Come in... Oh, hey. Hey, I was just about to call you.”
“Lena! I’ve been looking all over for you. You just disappeared!” Kara glommed onto her wife and held her tightly.
“Oh, no! I'm fine, I’m sorry for making you worry, my love." She gave Kara a firm kiss of assurance.
"What's wrong with your phone?" Kara huffed.
Lena frowned and dug her phone out of her purse. "Oh, shoot. I forgot to turn it back on after the whole thing at the waterfront. I'm sorry."
Kara sighed with relief and texted Alex that Lena was OK. "Why did you leave?"
"Well, Supergirl got her man, and I had to get mine," Lena answered vaguely. "I spoke to Edge…”
“Please tell me you convinced him not to buy CatCo,” Kara huffed.
“Well, you can't convince a bully like that of anything,” Lena shrugged.
Kara pouted. “So what, CatCo's gone?”
“No,” Lena floundered like a fish for a few seconds. “I bought it.”
“You're kidding... Are you kidding?” Kara was afraid to be too hopeful.
Lena laughed. “Pretty badass right? I'm just trying in my own small way to be more like Supergirl.”
Kara laughed with her wife. “Oh, Lena!” she hugged her again, feeling the babies kicking at her.
Lena continued, “And I was hoping maybe you could break the story.”
Kara’s face fell. “Oh, uh... I actually quit.
“Well, then un-quit,” Lena stated simply. “I can't do this without you. I literally know nothing about running a media empire.”
“Neither do I,” Kara reminded her.
“You know more than I do,” Lena countered. “You've studied under Cat and... I mean, I trust you. How often do you get to work with your best friend?”
“You're more of a lunatic than your brother is,” Morgan Edge baited from the office doorway.
“Excuse me?” Kara sneered, putting herself between Lena and Edge.
“I could ruin you,” Morgan continued.
“You are dangerously close to being thrown out by security,” Lena said calmly.
“You know what?” Kara growled.
Lena put her hand on Kara’s shoulder and stepped up beside her to face Edge eye to eye.
Edge spoke dangerously soft, “You are gonna regret, so regret, the day you screwed me. I sure hope you enjoyed yourself because now you have all of my attention.”
“Oh, Edge, like every woman who's ever had all of your attention, I couldn't care less,” Lena smirked. “He's all yours,” she told Kara.
Kara grinned darkly.
“What do you think you're gonna do?” Morgan challenged.
Kara picked him up by his lapels and flew him far out into the ocean and dropped him on top of a freighter ship.
“The attack on the waterfront... I know it was you,” she informed him. “To clear the way for your development. You're the only person who had anything to gain from it.”
“Yeah, well... You can't prove anything,” he denied.
“Not yet. But I see you Edge. National City is my town. And now you've got all my attention.” She jumped up and flew off.
“Hey!” Edge screamed. “You can't just leave me here!”
She ignored him.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The Superfriends were meeting at the alien bar for a few drinks, sans the Danvers crew. Alex had insisted that she take Kara home to make her rest.
"Man, you guys, you should've seen it, she was like a she-hulk or something!" Douglas said to the group.
"That's crazy awesome!" Eve gushed. "How did you do it?"
Sam shrugged. "It just must have been all that adrenaline, you know? My daughter was trapped, and I was panicking. I just knew that I had to get her outta there."
"Cool," Mon-El grinned.
"So, what kind of Superhero suit would you like?" Winn teased.
Sam slapped him on the arm, "Oh, stop it."
“Hey! You didn’t ask me what kind of suit I wanted,” Mon-El complained.
Winn pouted. “You don’t like your suit?”
“Of course I do, buddy,” Mon-El grinned. “I’m just messing around.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Alex cuddled on the bed with Kara who was falling asleep with her head on Alex's belly as the redhead stroked her hair. "I'm proud of you, Kara," she whispered. "I hope you know that."
"Thanks, Alex." Kara could feel the baby kicking her in the head, and she nuzzled into it, kissing her wife's belly. "I love you guys so much."
"We love you too, Angel."
Lena and Maggie came in from the bathroom and joined them on the bed.
“I’m proud of you guys too,” Kara said.
The twins came in the room, hair still damp from their showers. “Hi, Mommies, we’re all done,” they announced.
“OK, come give hugs and kisses, we’re exhausted,” Alex replied.
“Love you guys,” Jessie said, giving them all hugs and kisses.
“Me too,” said Jamie, hugging and kissing her parents.
“Love you too,” they all replied.
“Don’t stay up too late, OK?” Alex requested.
“We won’t,” the girls answered.
“I’m proud of you guys,” Kara told them. “You saved me, yet again.”
“Anything for you, Mama.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam was walking through a field of grass, toward a woman who was turned away from her. She took a few steps closer, and the figure turned, revealing a horrifying ghoulish face. She awoke with a start, screaming and throwing the covers off of herself.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Deep in the water and the rocks by the waterfront, a spaceship was coming alive.