Supergirl ~ Damage ~ Part One

***

Kara dove down onto the highway, landing in front of a prison escort truck, stopping it in its tracks. When she straightened from her crouch, she saw the driver look at her with wide eyes, one of the prisoners grabbing him out of his chair. She walked over to the doors and tore them open, climbing up into the bus. The prisoner grabbed the driver, and Kara paused, watching him put his knife to his throat. "You come closer, your eyes glow, you even flinch . . . and I open up his throat."

Kara tilted her head. "No, you won't."

Something exploded on top of the bus, and the prisoner turned around as part of the top collapsed. Alex dropped in and punched the guy out. Kara watched her demolish every prisoner who thought it was a good idea to try and take her down, then asked in a bored voice, "Anyone else?"

Unsurprisingly, no other prisoner moved from their seat.

***

Kara and Alex let the police handle the transport from there, and Kara walked down the sidewalk with her sister, feeling how tense and upset she was. "You holding up OK?" she asked.

"No," Alex said bluntly.

Kara looked at her sympathetically. "It's happening tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Alex confirmed.

Kara put her arm around her shoulders, squeezing her lightly.

***

Ruby looked up at her mother in concern on the way to school, then asked, "Mom, are you OK?"

"What?" Sam blinked, then nodded. "Yes. Babe, of course, I'm fine. I'm totally fine. It was just a dream."

"You were awake," Ruby pointed out.

"Ruby, I'm fine," she sighed. "It was a migraine. Look, we're up next. Get your backpack." Ruby smiled and grabbed her backpack from the back seat. "I love you," Sam smiled.

"Love you, too," Ruby giggled, getting out. "Bye!"

"Have a good day!" Sam waved. "Bye!"

Ruby walked towards the school, turning when she saw one of her friends run up to her. "Hey! Did you get your math homework done?" When Ruby nodded, he sheepishly said, "I couldn't get through it."

"Well, there's still time before the bell if you want me to help you," Ruby offered.

"Yeah," he grinned. "That'd be – "

Ruby frowned, seeing him stop midsentence, a strange look on his face. "You OK?" she asked. He tried to reach for her, then toppled backwards in a dead faint. "Luke!" she shrieked, lunging forward to try and catch him. "Mom, help! Mom!" Sam's eyes widened, and she hurried out of her car, pulling out her phone to call an ambulance. "It's OK, it's OK," she gasped, trying to figure out what to do to help Luke as he kept spasming. "It's OK. Oh, please," she sobbed, Sam running up and putting an arm around her. "It's OK. It's OK!"

***

"Ms. Luthor!" Lena turned when she heard her name being called, and James walked up to her, a small frown on his face. "Um, you approved an advertorial on page six."

"Is there a question coming?" Lena asked, a smirk on her face.

"Well, I – " James cleared his throat. "I just wish you would have told me first."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know ads were in your purview, Mr. Olsen."

"Well, they're in my purview," James admitted. "It's – it's not a big deal, it's just that if we're gonna disguise ads as articles, I think that it sends a bad message. People wanna know what they're getting, you know? They expect integrity from us. Just a perception thing."

"Seventy percent," Lena said suddenly.

James blinked, looking at her. "Excuse me?"

That's the deep discount on our print subscription rate," Lena informed him. "Seventy percent. That's what it takes just to get people to read, so I think an advertorial here and there is a necessary evil."

James chuckled slightly, but before another word could be said, there was a knock on the office door. "Everything OK?" Kara asked.

"Yeah," Lena nodded.

"Absolutely," James said at the same time.

"Good," Kara nodded, walking in. "Uh, James, I just came to check and see if – " She stopped, seeing something on the screens behind them, and she gulped, pointing. "Actually, I think you're gonna wanna turn up the TV."

James and Lena turned to see Morgan Edge on the largest screen, and Lena narrowed her eyes, seeing the description line at the bottom. "What is that scumbag doing in my hospital?" she demanded as James grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

"It was a nightmare," Edge was saying. "And we would've given anything for it to end, am I right? Then the Daxamites . . . the ships just up and left. You know why they left? It was a lead-dispersal bomb that drove 'em away. I have a colleague whose son was sick. Brought him here. There were other children in this hospital with the same symptoms. The doctors told me that there were other children in still other hospitals, all displaying the same symptoms. Lead poisoning." Lena blanched, watching as Edge backed up to crouch by a weak boy in a wheelchair. "You know, it's fitting that we're here, in this hospital. Lena Luthor built the bomb that poisoned these boys and girls."

As reporters erupted into questions, Lena set her jaw. "I've gotta get down there."

"Keep it down," Edge said, James watching Kara hurry after her, the Kryptonian pulling out her phone as she went. "Please respect the children. Let's take it outside, I'll answer your questions."

***

Alex stopped outside her apartment, twisting her key in her hands, before finally just opening the door and walking inside. Maggie twisted away from the table, and Alex swallowed, seeing she had one of the cards from their bridal shower in front of her. "I was hoping you'd take longer getting home," Maggie whispered.

"I thought about it," Alex admitted. "That's only gonna get harder."

"I don't wanna feel like this," Maggie sighed, standing up and walking towards her. "I love you!"

"Yeah, I love you, I love you back," Alex nodded, avoiding Maggie and brushing her hair out of her face. "I, uh . . . "

Maggie took deep breaths, tears in her eyes. "This can't be it," she denied. "This is stupid! This is - "

"We've talked this through, right?" Alex asked.

"Mmmhmm," Maggie nodded.

"I mean, for Can you do that again? Can – can you go another couple rounds? Because I can't. Are you ever gonna wanna have kids?"