Chapter 90: 90. Pestilence
Friday, October 27, 2017 (Pregnancy week 34)
The Danvers parents all woke up early to go into the OB office. Dr. Landry was there to let them in, greeting them warmly. “Hello, ladies, how are you all feeling?”
“We feel fine, it’s the babies we’re worried about,” Alex replied.
“Of course, dear, come on in,” Dr. Landry waved them inside. “Who wants to go first?”
“I think I should, since mine is the one with powers,” Alex volunteered.
Dr. Landry nodded. “Alright, you can all come back, if you want.” She set Alex up to do an ultrasound, asking her a million questions about how she was feeling and how the baby seemed. When she found the heartbeat, it was strong and steady. The doctor was quite thorough in her examination, and when she was done, she gave Alex a clean bill of health. “Everything looks good, honey. I don’t think the Kryptonite affected the babies at all, but I’m going to check all of you, just in case.” She moved quickly and efficiently to examine Lena and Maggie, and by the time she was finished, she was confident that everything was fine.
Alex sighed. “Thank you. That’s a big relief.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but why were you guys using Kryptonite in the first place?” the doctor asked.
“We captured Reign,” Alex answered. “It’s the only thing that we’ve found that can keep her under control, but we have to use a lot of it, and I think that’s why the kids got sick.”
“But they’re OK?” Dr. Landry was genuinely concerned.
Alex nodded. “Yeah, they’re OK. They’re still sleeping. We can’t tell them that they got Kryptonite poisoning, so we couldn’t really tell them that we were coming here.”
“Why can’t you tell them?” Dr. Landry wondered.
“It’s a long story that I’d rather not get into,” Alex sighed again. “No offense.”
“None taken,” the OB replied. “I know you can’t tell me everything. I’m just relieved that you’re all OK.”
“Me too,” Kara added adamantly. “Thank you, Dr. Landry. It means a lot to us that you went out of your way to help us out.”
Dr. Landry grinned at her. “Anytime. Seriously. I want these babies to be healthy as much as you do.”
The crew made their goodbyes with hugs all around. After that, the foursome returned home to make sure the kids were getting up for school.
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Before they went to work, Alex called the twins to her. “OK, babies. I want you to do your schooling in the solarium today. I know you’re feeling better, but I want to be sure. No red sun bands today. Just leave them off.”
“OK, Mom,” the twins agreed.
“Gimme hugs,” Alex demanded. She held her daughters tightly and kissed them on the head. “I love you girls so much. You know it? I’m really glad you’re OK.”
“We love you too, Mom,” they grinned, smooching her cheeks. The baby started kicking them, so they cooed at her for a while.
“OK my loves, we need to get going,” Alex informed them. “Be careful today. If anything goes wrong, like you start feeling sick again, call me immediately.”
“OK, Mom.”
“Have a good day,” Alex told them, kissing them again.
The family said their goodbyes for the day with hugs and kisses and well wishes, and they all went their separate ways.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Ponytail!” Snapper barked across the bullpen as soon as Kara walked through the door.
Kara repressed a sigh and shuffled over to him. “Yes, boss?”
“I need updates about Reign. Where is she? What is she doing?”
Kara wondered how everything this man said seemed to be angry. “I-” she stammered.
“I don’t want excuses, Danvers, I want something we can publish. Get to work!”
“Yes, sir,” Kara grumbled, trudging over to her desk and trying to figure out what the hell to tell people. Yes, Reign was in custody, but would they be able to contain her long enough for the cure to be finished? Could they promise that she wouldn’t do anymore damage until then? And what about Pestilence? Not many people knew that there was more than one Worldkiller. Should she tell them to watch out for her? Would it make any difference, or would it incite more panic? She scrambled to put together something that would make sense and assure the people that they were safe for now, that Reign was a parasite infecting a human host, and that they were trying to cure her. Every time Kara left the room to get a quote from someone, Snapper glared at her, daring her to fly off so she could suffer his wrath again.
It took her a couple of hours, but finally, she finished her draft and passed it off to her boss. He read through it while she stood there, marking notes in the margin for her to edit and handed it back to her. “Fix it.”
Kara resisted the urge to growl at him, but she wordlessly took her copy back and adjusted for the notes he’d written. Surprisingly, the notes weren’t disparaging her ability to write this time. He just wanted her to clarify a few things, so she did, and passed it back.
Snapper read the adjusted article, put it in a folder on his desk and huffed, “Leave. Get this Worldkiller problem fixed.”
She blinked at him, but he didn’t look up at her. “Uh… OK?” She wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him to change his mind. She gathered up her things and headed to the roof to fly to the DEO. She was lost in thought, trying to process the insane amount of stress they’d all been under the past couple of weeks when something fell on her head. She stopped flying to see what had hit her. It was a… seagull? Suddenly, there were more birds falling down from the sky all around her. “What in the name of Rao?” She looked all around her and couldn’t see any reason for the birds to fall down dead like that. She picked one up and took it with her to the DEO. Maybe they could figure out what happened.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Well, that was a very sick creature,” Alex summarized. “And what's odd is that I can't find a virus or infection of any kind.”
“Well, something must have done that,” Kara pointed out.
“The Blight,” Imra said confidently.
“We went through this on Winath,” Garth explained. “The Blight is preceded by mass wildlife death and plant life, crops rotting in the Earth.”
“Soon it will manifest in people,” Imra warned.
“It's a short incubation period,” Garth continued. “It's 100% fatal and extremely contagious.”
“Based on my tests, whatever this bird had, it wasn't transmittable,” Alex said. “Not even from bird to bird. So it had to have come in contact with Pestilence herself.”
“It might not be contagious yet, but if Pestilence gets stronger, even half the strength of the Blight, the entire city would fall ill in a matter of days,” Imra worried.
“But we won't let her get stronger,” Kara promised.
Imra nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Now remember, the cure is written in our DNA,” Garth told them.
“With Brainy's help, we'll be able to extract it, weaponize it, and use it to kill Pestilence before she ever becomes the Blight,” Imra said passionately.
“Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Kara stopped her. “We're not killing anyone. There is a human side to Pestilence. We're gonna find her, and we're going to save her.”
“We came here to end the threat to our time, and that means ending her life in this time,” Imra argued.
“It's just not how we operate,” Kara insisted.
Imra shrugged. “That's not how I usually operate, but these are extreme circumstances.”
“Hey, stop right there!” Alex bellowed, aiming her gun at an unfamiliar man coming into the room.
The man stopped in his tracks and put his hands up.
“Whoa, whoa!” Garth stopped them. “Guys, it's Brainy.”
“Oh, of course,” Brainy shook his head. “I'm wearing a personal image inducer.” He pressed a spot on his forehead and his skin tone turned back to being light blue. “I had to purchase some apple cider vinegar, and I nearly caused a riot at the Piggly Wiggly.” He clicked the inducer back on to make himself look human again.
“Huh,” Kara responded interestedly.
“I thought this would, uh, help me fit in better,” Brainy explained.
“Hey, guys, I just got word from City Hall…” Winn interrupted. He looked at the man standing next to him and after a moment, he said, “Hey, Brainy.”
“Wait, you recognize him?” Kara exclaimed.
“Yeah. What is that, an image inducer? Eh? Ah, so our brains just think we're seeing a human, but no. Hey, can I borrow that for Halloween?” Winn pointed at the inducer and Brainy slapped his hand away.
“Agent Schott, you were saying?” J’onn insisted.
“Oh, yes! The mayor, the chief of police, uh, like, five city councilmen are all sick. High fevers, bloody noses. So either it was sushi day at City Hall cafeteria or…” he grimaced, letting the sentence finish itself.
“It's her. Let's go,” Imra huffed.
“What? Hang on, hang on. Wait!” Kara stopped her. “We have sick people now. So, let's go run some tests on them. Meanwhile, you guys extract the cure, so we can give it to the victims.”
“It won't take long on our end,” Garth informed them. “So we'll meet up with you later.”
“Thank you,” Kara said softly. At Imra’s look of dismay, she added, “Don't worry, we'll get her.”
Imra’s face was not very confident in her.
Alex’s phone rang before they could move. “Maggie? Are you OK?”
“Alex, the Chief and a bunch of other people are sick!” Maggie exclaimed.
“I know, honey, we’re working on it,” Alex tried to soothe her. “I know this is gonna be hard for you to do, but please, Maggie, until we can get this under control, you need to stay away from him. We don’t need another baby scare. Stay at the precinct to help keep control of the office, and I’ll keep you posted.”
“I can’t lose him, Alex!” Maggie whimpered.
“I know, I know,” Alex spoke softly. “We’ll figure this out, babe. Hang in there.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Explain it to me again,” Sam demanded.
“When Reign is triggered, your genome is rewritten,” Lena repeated patiently. “It's why you can't shoot heat beams out of your eyes whenever you want.”
“So you think there's an enzyme in my body that triggers a change,” Sam summarized.
“Yes,” Lena confirmed. “And if we can isolate it, we can eliminate it.”
“And no more Reign,” Sam nodded.
Lena wasn’t finished, “But in order to find it, I need to study you while you're her.”
“And the only definite way to turn me into her is to electrocute me?” Sam asked.
“The pain response should bring her out,” Lena figured.
“How much is it gonna hurt?” Sam asked warily.
“We're going to start with 500 volts,” Lena replied.
Sam gave her a look. “That's not what I asked.”
“A lot,” Lena replied sadly. “If we had more time, we could find another way, but we don't. So we have to do it.”
Sam closed her eyes and offered a soft, “OK.”
“OK.” Lena attached the electrodes to each of Sam’s temples and stepped out of her room, locking the door behind her. She looked to Eliza for reassurance, and the eldest Danvers nodded in encouragement. Lena’s finger hovered over the ‘ON’ button. She really didn’t want to do this, but it was their only option. They’d tried triggering their anger again, but Sam and Julia weren’t fooled a second time. They let Alex and Lena’s words roll right off of them. She reminded herself that this was for the fight for Sam’s life, and if she didn’t do it, they could very well lose Sam to Reign for good. She pressed the button and flinched as Sam screamed.
XXX
Sam woke up in a creepy dark forest. Startled, she sat up and looked around her.
“You,” a voice spoke from seemingly all around her. “I see you.”
Sam got up and started running, but she didn’t get very far before a dark figure blocked her path. She gasped. It was Reign.
“They're coming for us,” Reign whispered, stalking towards her.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara, J’onn, Winn, and Dr. Hamilton drove out to City Hall to check on the people who had become sick.
“It's a nightmare, it happened so fast,” the Mayor shook his head in dismay. “My chief of staff and the councilwoman, we ordered a quarantine immediately.”
“You did the right thing,” Kara assured him. When a coughing fit overtook his ability to speak, she added. “You rest. We've got this.” She and the others walked out of the Mayor’s hearing range. “Did you see that mark on his hand?
“Yeah, it must not be airborne,” Dr. Hamilton replied.
“Check and see if any other patients have similar marks,” J’onn requested. “I'll check the visitor logs.”
Kara spotted a young red-headed woman crying on the floor. “Hey, are you okay? Do you need a doctor?”
“No,” the young woman replied. “I'm not sick, just scared.”
She knelt down next to the girl. “Everything's gonna be okay.” She gave the woman a hopeful smile, and the girl smiled back.
Dr. Hamilton and Winn spoke to the onsite doctor. “As you can see, most of the patients have scratches, but none of them remember being scratched,” she told them.
“They probably didn't even feel it,” Dr. Hamilton reasoned. “But I think it's the origin of the infection.”
“Okay, so everyone who is sick was scratched by the source?” Winn checked. “That confirms your theory that it was not passed person-to-person.”
“Well, if you're sure it's not contagious, then I need the quarantine lifted and the patients transferred to the nearest trauma facility,” the onsite doctor requested.
“We have a lead on a treatment,” Dr. Hamiton assured her.
“You do?” the other doctor asked in surprise. “Already?”
“Well, we work very fast on account of being really smart,” Winn chuckled.
“Some people find humor charming during stressful circumstances,” the woman said disparagingly. “I find it's a mask for a lack of confidence.”
“Well,” Winn replied in annoyance. “I find that... I have no retort.”
“We'll get the patients transferred as soon as possible,” Dr. Hamilton assured the woman. “And when the treatment is ready, we'll have it widely distributed.”
“You, I believe,” the other doctor smiled flirtatiously at Dr. Hamilton before she walked away.
As J’onn and Kara rejoined them, Winn grumbled, “Okay. So mean doctor says we have to lift the quarantine.”
“She's not mean, she's just serious,” Dr. Hamilton chastised him. “And she's correct. If the same thing that happened to the birds happens to these patients, they could descend into catastrophic organ failure.”
“There's a possibility that Pestilence is still here,” J’onn mused.
“The Legionnaires did say that there's an incubation period,” Dr. Hamilton confirmed, “But those scratches did not look new. And she's probably not even here anymore.”
“Let's get all these people to the hospital, and, J'onn, you and I can fly the really sick ones,” Kara suggested.
“All right people,” J’onn turned to the DEO agents with them. “Let's keep it calm. The last thing we need is a panic.”
A weird colored light shone through all the windows in city hall, and outside, people started screaming.
“What is that?” J’onn exclaimed.
They all ran outside to see what the commotion was - a force field surrounding the building preventing anyone from getting in or out.
“Let me out of here!” a man screamed in the distance.
“So much for avoiding a panic,” J’onn sighed.
“Imra, take down the force field!” Kara shouted.
“Did you find her?” Imra ignored her demand.
“Take it down, now!” Kara repeated. “We have to get these people to a hospital.”
“Is Pestilence here?” Imra growled.
“There's no sign of her now. Just scared people who need real medical attention.” Kara got up in Imra’s face and used her most commanding voice. “Take it down!”
Finally, though reluctantly, Imra released the force field, so that people could pass through again.
“Shouldn't you be working on the cure?” Kara huffed.
“Brainy and the others are getting the transfer set up now,” Imra explained in irritation.
“Well, we can handle this,” Kara said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Imra scoffed. “You say that, but you do not know what you're up against.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam groaned in pain as she woke up, panting and trying to catch her breath.
When Lena was certain that it was actually Sam, she unlocked the door and sat down next to her.
Sam sat up and pressed her hands into her face for a moment before speaking, “Reign was there, in the Dark valley.”
“What valley?” Lena asked softly.
“I just thought it was in my dreams, my nightmares,” Sam explained, “But it was real this time. And I remember everything. She was talking to me like I'm talking to you.”
Lena stood up and paced the room for a moment. “It's a parallel dimension. It's where you go when Reign takes over. It's why you can't remember anything. When your body transforms into Reign, your mind literally goes there.”
“Well, we were both there this time,” Sam replied.
“I mean, we've been suppressing Reign's consciousness. She couldn't manifest fully in this world, so she existed in that one with you, together,” Lena surmised.
Sam sighed. “She said they were coming for us.”
Lena frowned. “Who's coming?”
“I don't know,” Sam rubbed her aching head. “Did you find what triggers the transformation?”
“Not yet,” Lena shook her head sadly. “I need to increase the voltage. I need more time to observe Reign.”
“Okay,” Sam gulped.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“You shouldn't have gone to City Hall,” Garth chastised Imra while they were extracting their blood for the Pestilence cure. “Kara said she had it handled.”
“She's not taking it seriously enough,” Imra argued.
“No one takes the protection of this planet more seriously than she does,” Garth pointed out. “Look, I know what this mission means to you.”
“This isn't about me,” Imra insisted. “This is about the Legion. And our mission is to save the people of our time.”
“There has to be a way to do this without making a moral compromise. We base the entire philosophy of the Legion on Supergirl,” he reminded her. “Have you considered that she might have the right approach here?”
She shook her head. “Success is the only thing that matters.”
An automated voice told Imra that her transfusion was complete.
“You're done already?” Garth balked.
Imra smirked at him. “You always were a little bit slow.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara caught up with Alex at the DEO. “So, Winn's running through security footage to see who came in contact with everyone who got sick.”
“Well, I just got word that Brainy, Imra and Garth have extracted the cure, and they're manufacturing doses as we speak,” Alex said almost chipperly. “So, hopefully it's just a matter of time.”
“Hopefully,” Kara sighed.
“Hey…” Alex took her wife’s hand. “I know that you're frustrated, okay? But there's still a really good chance that Imra could come around, you know? And that we can work with her on this. She might have some really important insight into Pestilence.”
“Yeah, to kill her,” Kara complained. “I don't kill. I mean, you know it's possible to reach them. You of all people understand how important it is to help whoever's in Pestilence.”
“Yeah, of course I do” Alex agreed. “So maybe Imra just needs a little more convincing?”
“I've been trying,” Kara huffed. “She's... She's being irrational. She's just not listening to me.”
“I think I found her!” Winn shouted, running towards them. “Hey!” he panted. “Okay, so there was one person who came in contact with everybody who got sick at the mayor's office. Adelaide Swanson, an administrator known for her famous lemon poppy seed cookies.” He showed them the profile on his tablet.
“A Worldkiller that bakes cookies?” Alex made a face. “That's unexpected.”
“Wait, let me see,” Kara looked closely at the redhead in the photo. “Yeah. Yeah, I saw her at City Hall. She looked... Well, she looked terrified.”
Kara got the address from Winn and flew out immediately.
While she was in the air, Alex came in over her coms, “Supergirl, I'll have J'onn meet you there with a strike team.”
As soon as Kara arrived, she spotted Saturn Girl standing over Adelaide who was lying on the floor. “Imra! Get away from her. What did you do?”
“I didn't do anything,” Imra rolled her eyes. “She was dead when I got here. It's not Pestilence, she's human. A victim.”
Kara bent down and examined the body, noticing that the poor girl had one of those scratches on her hands. “How did you know she was here?” she asked gruffly.
“Brainiac-5 has all the same data you do,” Imra replied.
“So you came here without telling me,” Kara accused. Before Imra could answer, J’onn and his strike team burst into the apartment. “Stand down, stand down,” Kara told them. “We got the wrong person, she's a human. A victim.”
J’onn spoke on his comms, “Winn, Alex, keep looking.”
XXX
“Man,” Winn whined. “I was so sure it was gonna be her. I mean, according to the security footage, she's the only person that came in contact with all the victims.”
“Winn!” Alex exclaimed.
“What?” he flinched.
“Your nose!” she pointed.
“My nose?” He thought maybe he had a booger, so he swiped at his nose and came back with blood on his fingers. He just stared in shock.
“J'onn, Supergirl, you need to get back here now!” Alex demanded. “It's Winn.”
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“James!” Winn cheered as his best friend came into the medbay. “Hey, tell him I'm not dying.”
“Hey, James," J'onn greeted him. "He's not dying. We're giving him the Legion's cure."
"Which by my calculations should have him rebounding in approximately 2.4534 hours," Brainy stated proudly.
"Okay," James chuckled. "How you doing, buddy?"
Winn pointed at him. "You should be at CatCo."
"It's called delegation," James explained. "I've got every reporter in the building working on this. Which actually reminds me, the city is pretty panicked about this. So if you have any information I can disseminate, that would be helpful."
“Doses of the cure are on their way to all the hospitals," J'onn told him.
“And the other Worldkiller is still MIA," Kara sighed.
“Yeah, but now that Winn is infected, doesn't that give us another lead?" James asked.
“Yes. The scratch on your hand seems to be the point of infection," Brainy picked up his injured hand.
Alex slapped the alien. "Don't touch that."
"Winn," Braniac-5 said, leaning close, "You're a slightly smarter-than-average human. Please tell us you remember who scratched you."
Winn gasped, “Oh! Well, there was the guy with the gloves, and the knives and then the burnt face."
Brainy's eyes widened. “Go on. This sounds like a very promising lead. What else do you remember?"
“Oh, so scary, man," Winn continued. "I couldn't even look at it."
“It's Freddy Krueger!" Alex jumped in before Winn could deceive the poor Coluan any further.
“You know him, too!" Brainy snapped his fingers. "Eureka!"
“It's a character in a movie," Kara said helpfully.
Winn laughed.
“Facetiousness," Brainy pouted. "My greatest weakness."
“The scratches don't seem to manifest until the symptoms do," Alex explained. "And the only trace evidence we could find is a mild analgesic."
“Well, Alex, keep running those tests," J'onn said. "See if you can come up with something more promising. In the meantime, I'll get a team out. See if they can talk to these patients and find a common link."
Alex nodded and followed J'onn out the door.
“Hey," Kara grinned sweetly at Winn. “Um, I'll come check in, but there's something I have to take care of."
“Okie dokie," Winn smiled at her in return.
“Um, hang in there," she encouraged him.
“Mmm-hmm."
Kara left Winn alone with James and hunted down Imra. When she found her, Kara got right to the point. “Imra, why did you go behind my back?"
The Saturnian sighed. “I didn't have a choice."
“You always have a choice," Kara rebutted.
“No, I don't," Imra insisted. "Look, I don't wanna kill her or anyone. I have the same ideals you do."
Kara put her hands on her hips. “You should know you don't get to pick and choose when your ideals matter. You either live by them or you don't."
“You think this is bad?" Imra was close to tears. "The Blight is so much worse. Every hospital bed in every city on every planet is overrun. Mass graves… So if it's between her and the millions of people who die by the Blight in the future, I'm going to kill her."
“The best way to defeat the Worldkillers is by saving their human sides!" Kara repeated for what felt like the millionth time.
“You're wrong," Imra stood her ground. "I'm from the future. I've seen what happens if you're left to deal with the situation the way you want to. The Blight happens. Pestilence survives. Whatever you do in this time to try to stop her, fails. You fail. So if I get the chance, I will end this."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Again Sam found herself in the Dark Forest. She took a deep breath and it came out shakily.
“I was here for so long,” Reign spoke to her again. “Alone. You kept me here. You're strong. Much stronger than you should be. But that will change... Your friend, she's breaking your body. You should stop her.”
“Why? Because you're afraid we're getting closer?” Sam snipped.
“No,” Reign smirked. “Because it will be so much better if you give in. There's bliss in surrender. I've seen your life. All those sleepless, solitary nights where you stare into the dark. Not even able to dream of an escape. You've been trapped since Ruby was born. It doesn't have to be that way. There's another life. One of power… Control. It's here for you. Just reach out and take it. You'll be free, Samantha. Surrender.”
XXX
Sam gasped in fear as she woke again, yanking off the electrodes on her head. When she showed signs of having a panic attack, Lena ran into her room to help soothe her. “Sam! Sam, it's okay. Just deep breaths, deep breaths. Calm down.”
Sam sat up and held her head in her hands. “I can't go back in there,” she panted. “We have to find another way!”
“There is no other way,” Lena reminded her. “I know how hard this is.-”
“No!” Sam cut her off with a growl. “No, you don't! It's like facing your shadow. Everything dark you've ever feared about yourself.” She held her hands to her head in desperation.
“If you don't do this, Reign will take control of your body, and she will condemn you to that place forever, okay?” Lena pointed out. “She will win.”
Sam rubbed her temples and tried to catch her breath. “OK. Just give me a minute.”
“OK,” Lena allowed. She sat with her friend until Sam caught her breath.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara was watching over a sleeping Winn when J’onn sidled up beside her.
“He's gonna be okay,” the director patted her shoulder.
“I know,” she sighed. “It's not just that. Do you think I'll get through to Pestilence?”
“There's no way of knowing,” he shrugged. “You just have to try.”
“That's not what Yoda would say,” she pouted.
J’onn chuckled. “Oh, yeah, Yoda. ‘Do or do not.’” He scoffed. “He was wrong about that one.”
Kara giggled.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my father has been having some problems with his memory,” J’onn admitted. “These days, I don't know what my father will remember. I wake up and have the same conversation with him every day. I keep at it because sometimes he remembers we've had that conversation before, and we actually laugh about it. I keep trying. I keep talking… So that he can find those moments of clarity. And laugh. Just because something's hard doesn't mean it's impossible. You break through impossible every day. You inspire the rest of us to do the same.”
Kara smiled sweetly at him. “You're a good son. And thank you.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Did you talk to Kara?” Garth asked Imra.
“Yes,” Imra sighed. “And she didn't listen to reason.”
“You didn't tell her the whole story, did you?” Garth shook his head. “You keep saying this is a Legion mission, but you made this decision on your own out of vengeance.”
“I'm doing this to save countless lives in the future,” Imra argued. “I'm perfectly capable of keeping my personal feelings out of this.”
“We took an oath when we formed the Legion. To preserve all that is good and to never harm the innocent,” Garth reminded her. “How is this mission in line with that? We should not kill Pestilence.” He looked over at Brainy who had been quiet this whole time. “And you're obviously on Imra's side.”
“It's not about picking sides, Garth,” Brainy replied. “If we kill Pestilence when we find her, there is a 98.459% chance the Blight will never happen. Millions of people will be saved. Now, if we try to rescue the person inside of her in order to defeat her, that chance is reduced to 52.44%.”
“Some decisions can't be made with a math equation,” Garth huffed.
Brainy paused dramatically. “Guys, something's happened to Winn.”
They rushed downstairs to the DEO medbay where Winn was clutching his stomach and groaning. “Just a thought. I don't… Don't think the cure is, um uh, working,” he stammered.
“Oh, my God!” Kara exclaimed, running into the room.
Dr. Hamilton gave Winn some meds through his IV. “All right. This should keep him stable for now.”
“Come on, Winn,” J’onn said gruffly.
Winn’s breathing slowed and he seemed to calm a bit.
“What happened?” J’onn demanded.
Brainy mumbled to himself for a moment before answering, “Oh, yes, there it is. I see it now. The cure is designed to cure victims of the Blight. But because Pestilence is not technically the Blight but the forebearer of it, the cure we have needs to be modified to fight her particular strand of virus.”
“So, how do we do that?” James asked.
“We need a piece of Pestilence's DNA,” Brainy replied.
Kara balked. “So if we can't find her, more people could get infected and the people that are already infected-”
“Yes,” Brainy interrupted. “Finding her as soon as humanly or non-humanly possible would be-”
He was cut off by Dr. Hamilton falling to the floor.
“Dr. Hamilton?” Kara ran to her. “Dr. Hamilton! No, no, no, no, no!”
“...imperative,” Brainy finished softly.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
When Sam found herself in the Dark Forest again, she hid behind a tree.
“Why would you hide from me?” Reign taunted. “Now that you have seen what you can be. The power you can have.”
Sam panted in fear. “I don't want it. You're nothing but a cancer. I know you think you're gonna escape and take control. But my friends and I are gonna stop you.”
Reign snatched Sam up by her throat, “Just wait and see what your defiance will cost you. I will turn your world into ash. Especially her. Your heart, your strength. I will kill Ruby. Burn her. Cut her inside out.”
XXX
Sam let out a blood-curdling scream. “Stop, stop, stop! No!”
Lena ran to Sam as quickly as she could, making soft shushing noises. “It's okay. Hey, hey.”
“She said she was gonna kill Ruby!” Sam whimpered, body trembling.
“No,” Lena shook her head. “No, she can't kill her. Ruby is safe.”
“Did you find the trigger?” Sam asked.
“No,” Lena said sadly.
“Then Ruby is not safe,” Sam growled. “We need to stop Reign.”
“That is what we are doing, Sam,” Lena assured her. “Hang in there. We’ve almost got her.”
“Do not let Ruby come here today,” Sam begged, tears in her eyes. “Don’t let any of them come.”
“OK,” Lena agreed quickly. “OK. I'm not gonna let her hurt Ruby. Ever. OK? I promise. OK? It's OK.” She held tightly to Sam while the CFO cried. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m so sorry.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Supergirl paced the DEO briefing room. “Winn and Dr. Hamilton are going downhill. With all the information we have, we have to be able to find something.”
“Well, I'm doing the best I can here,” Brainy sighed. “I followed Agent Schott and Dr. Hamilton on security footage when they were at City Hall, assuming they ran into Pestilence, but they spent 60% of the time in blind spots. It's like they were trained to evade cameras.”
“What about Adelaide?” Kara asked.
“I followed her like the others on every camera I could find in the city,” Brainy told her.
“Didn't reveal any suspects,” J’onn said.
“What about social media?” Kara suggested, getting on Winn’s computer.
“Social... What?” Brainy’s eye twitched at not knowing something.
“In this time, a generation called Millennials would share their whereabouts with family, friends and complete strangers on the internet,” Kara explained.
Brainy frowned. “Sounds delusional.”
“Yeah,” Kara chuckled. “We don’t let our kids on them.” She searched until she found what she was looking for. “Here,” she pointed, showing them Adelaide’s Facebook page. “Twenty-four hours before her death she brought cookies to a mobile flu unit at City Hall.”
“That doesn't tell us anything. She works there,” J’onn countered.
“But look who's behind her,” she pointed to the background of the photo. “That's that doctor. She was talking to Winn and Dr. Hamilton at City Hall. If she was there hours earlier, she must have infected the Mayor and everyone else. I'm sure of it.”
“I didn't see her with him in the security footage,” Brainy said, poking at his tablet.
“But you said there were blind spots,” Kara insisted. “She's Pestilence. She has to be.”
Brainy pulled up a profile on the woman and sent it to the big screen. “Dr. Grace Parker, first in her class at Metropolis University School of Medicine, now practices emergency surgery at National City General.”
“She's a doctor,” Kara pointed out hopefully. “She heals people for a living.”
“You can get through to her,” J’onn clearly shared her hopefulness. “Is she still at the hospital?”
Brainy typed on his table again. “Actually, according to a simple scan of security cameras throughout the city, it seems she entered the Silvermine Health Insurance building five minutes ago.”
“I'm going,” Kara warned them.
“Take someone with you,” J’onn insisted. “I'll organize a strike team.”
Kara nodded. “I’ll get Liin on the way out.”
Brainy waited until Supergirl and J’onn were gone before getting on his coms. “Imra. They found her.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Pestilence stalked through the halls of the Silvermine Health Insurance building until she found the board meeting going on. She just stood there for a moment, enjoying the fact that she hadn’t been spotted yet.
“Third quarter is down 5%, it will affect personal bonuses,” said the man at the head of the table. “Target lower income families. Raise the rates. We gotta boost that fourth quarter. We can't forget it's the evaluation itself that's in question.” He finally noticed the woman standing in the doorway. “Can I help you?”
Pestilence sauntered into the room. “You could have but you missed your chance. You sit here wallowing in your own ignorance. Looking for any reason you can to deny your customers the very service you have sold them.”
The man at the head of the table picked up the phone and dialed the operator. “Can we get security in here?”
“You won't need them,” Pestilence smirked. “Life-and-death decisions are out of your hands now.”
“Just make your point and get out, OK?” the man huffed.
Pestilence smiled. “I was hoping you'd say that.” Her fingernails grew out like claws, and she drew back to slash him, but a shot of heat vision in front of her stopped her.
“Don't take another step, Grace!” Supergirl warned.
“It's not Grace anymore,” Pestilence frowned as the board members rushed out of the room. “You would save even these scabs? They who profit on the suffering of others?”
“Everyone deserves saving,” Kara told her.
“Not them,” Pestilence argued. “They're not good.”
“But you are,” Kara insisted.
Imra caught up to them, but Liin stopped her. “Imra, wait. Give her a chance.”
“Think of the lives you've saved,” Supergirl urged. “You're a doctor, Grace. The day you took an oath you swore you would do no harm.”
“Do no harm,” the woman repeated, and then suddenly, she was clearly Grace again.
“Grace... It's gonna be OK,” Kara soothed.
Grace wasn’t convinced. “My mother used to always say that good would be rewarded with Grace.” She chuckled wryly, “But when I became a surgeon I finally saw the truth. There's no reward for being good.”
“Whatever's happening to you doesn't give you power over who lives. Only over who dies. You don't want that. We can stop it.” Kara offered her hand to the woman.
“Stop it,” Grace repeated, taking Supergirl’s hand. “Why would I ever wanna stop it? This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I don't have to worry about saving anyone anymore because I don't want to.” She shoved Kara’s hand away.
“No…”
“I get to choose who dies.”
“Grace…”
“They say that surgeons have a God complex, but it's simple. I am a God.” Pestilence raised her hand to scratch Supergirl, but Liin stopped her by catching her arm with his cape. When his cape didn’t let go, she jerked her arm as hard as she could, sending him flying over the conference table.
Imra sent a few chairs flying at the Worldkiller, but the woman didn’t pay much attention to Saturn Girl. She lunged at Supergirl instead, but Kara dodged her and sent her flying through the windows behind her. The three heroes chased after her as she climbed over the railing and dropped several stories down to the entrance hall. Kara flew down and blocked her.
“You honestly thought you could talk me into being redeemed? You're such a child. Words will never hurt me.”
“What about sticks and stones?” Kara snarked.
Right on cue, Imra started sending all sorts of desks and things flying at the Worldkiller. When Pestilence threw something back at her, Liin flew in to intercept it, catching it with his cape and throwing it back at her. Now the Worldkiller was annoyed enough at Imra to try to fly up after her, but Supergirl caught her and the pair traded blows back and forth, trashing the building until Pestilence finally fell to the ground. Imra formed a forcefield around the woman, and aimed some kind of dart right at her heart.
“Imra…” Kara panted.
Saturn Girl gave her the briefest look before sending the dart flying at the Worldkiller. Pestilence groaned and fell to the ground. She was clearly in pain, and the more time went by, the louder Pestilence screamed before she finally fell limply at Imra’s feet.
“No!” Kara stumbled over to the woman and pressed her fingers to her pulse point. “She’s dead,” Kara said sadly.
“I’m sorry, Kara, but I had to do it,” Imra insisted. “It was the only way.”
Kara nodded with tears in her eyes. “I know… I’m not happy about it, but in the end, she didn’t want to be saved.”
Imra sighed in relief. “Let’s get this back to the DEO,” she said, picking up the dart. “This has Pestilence’s DNA on it, so we can fix the cure.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara was sitting on her sunbed when Dr. Hamilton woke up beside her.
“Oh, my God. Are you okay?” the doctor exclaimed.
“Yes, I'm just fine,” Kara assured her. “Just recharging a little. Are you okay?”
Dr. Hamilton smiled. “I'm alive.”
Kara grinned.
“Hey, nice to see you up,” J’onn said to Dr. Hamilton as he came in through the door. “You had us a little worried there.”
“Wait a minute. Where's Winn?” Dr. Hamilton worried.
J’onn rolled his eyes. “Against my better judgment, he's back at work.”
“Oh, what a suck-up,” Kara giggled.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you healthy again,” J’onn smiled.
“Thanks” Dr. Hamilton grinned at him.
“I had Douglas pick Ruby up from school,” J’onn informed Kara. “He took her back to your place. Sam doesn’t want Ruby coming up here anymore. Apparently Reign threatened her life.”
“Oh Rao,” Kara groaned. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not,” J’onn agreed.
“I should go check in with my wives and then check on the kids,” Kara told him. She saluted him with a little smile and headed out. Halfway down the hall, she ran into Imra who looked like she’d be crying.
“Hey,” Kara greeted her gently. “Are you OK?”
Imra sniffled, but smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I’m just relieved.”
Kara nodded, putting her hands on her hips and looking at her boots. “You said I would fail… I should have listened to you.”
“No, don't say that,” Imra shook her head.
“I've always followed my instincts,” Kara muttered. “But now, I… I don't know what to follow.”
Imra placed her hand on Kara’s shoulder. “I never came here to make you doubt who you are or what you believe. I was wrong to try to make you change. I never told you, but I lost someone to the Blight. It was my sister. Her name was Preya. She was quiet, and stuck to herself. But she always had my back. Then, one day she was gone.”
“I'm so sorry,” Kara teared up.
Imra shook her head and grinned. “But she should be alive now.”
Kara was encouraged by this, but for some reason it made her cry. She nodded, and Imra pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry, Kara,” Imra soothed her. “Please don’t hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Imra,” Kara sniffled. “Luckily for you, Maggie has been working with me on this issue long before you came along.”
Imra chuckled. “Well, I’ll have to thank her.”
Kara nodded. “You do that. I need to get going.” Before she walked away, a thought occurred to her, “Oh, hey, you guys aren’t going to leave right away are you?”
Imra’s nose crinkled in thought. “I’m not sure, why?”
“I just…” Kara stammered. “I was just hoping that you guys would stay for a little while longer. The babies are going to be born in about six more weeks. I was hoping you all would stay until then. But you probably want to see your sister, huh?”
“I’ll talk to the others,” Imra told her. “If they’re up for staying, I wouldn’t mind. Especially since we still have two more uncured Worldkillers. I know Jack wanted to meet his namesake.”
Kara smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that. OK. I’ll see you later.” She waved at Imra and headed towards Alex’s lab.
“Kara!” Eliza greeted her cheerfully. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, dear.” She got up and gave Kara a hug.
“Hi, Angel,” Alex greeted her with a hug and a kiss.
“How are you feeling, baby?” Kara asked.
“I’m good,” Alex replied. “We’re having problems getting Reign to manifest herself again. Lena’s tried the electroshock therapy, but it’s not working. We might have to take some of the Kryptonite out.”
“Hmm,” Kara acknowledged. “Just please be careful.”
“We will, I promise,” Alex said with a kiss.
“Oh, and we figured out why the kids got sick from the Kryptonite,” Eliza informed her. “Their Kryptonian cells are beginning to manifest themselves more now that they’ve had their powers for longer. Not necessarily killing their human side, just becoming more relevant in their systems, and it’s beginning to make them more vulnerable to Kryptonite.”
“Oh,” Kara frowned. “That’s disappointing. I was hoping they’d stay immune.”
“Well, they should still be able to be around small amounts of it without any problems, but with the sheer amount of Kryptonite that we have in Sam and Julia’s rooms, it just took its toll on them.”
Kara nodded. “OK, we’ll just have to be more careful.”
“Exactly,” Eliza agreed.
“Are you guys OK with me going home for a while?” Kara checked.
“Yeah,” Alex permitted. “I’m sure the kids are pissed that they aren’t allowed up here anymore. Go home and spend some time with them. Maggie will be home soon too, and I’m sure she’d love some cuddle time. Lena and I are going to wrap up in a little while. Sam needs a break.”
“OK. I love you. Give Lena my love too.” Kara hugged and kissed her wife and mother-in-law and headed down to the parking garage to drive home.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Lena was frustrated, but she’d done all she could do for the day. She was afraid if she shocked Sam any more, she’d fry the poor woman’s brain. She’d have to wait a little longer to get the information she wanted. She didn’t want to trigger Purity because she was the one that was able to break through the glass last time, and Lena didn’t want to risk that at the moment. She busied herself with tending to Sam, getting her water and forcing her to eat something to keep up her strength.
“I’m going to let you rest for the evening,” she told Sam. “Tomorrow we’ll take some of the Kryptonite out and see if we can get Reign to manifest herself. We’re so close, Sam. I can taste it. Just hang in there, sweetie.”
Sam was clearly exhausted and in pain. She kept rubbing her head and sighing. “OK. I need to get some work done anyway.”
Lena tried not to roll her eyes. “You don’t have to push yourself like that, Sam.”
“I need it,” Sam insisted. “It’s one of the only things keeping me sane right now.”
“OK, but try to rest too,” Lena pressed. “Call Ruby. She should be out of school by now.”
Sam nodded. “I will.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
When Kara got home, the kids ran to greet her with hugs and kisses. “Oh, yes, I needed these hugs!” she sighed. The twins didn’t have their red sun bands on, so she could really feel their squeezes, and it was incredibly soothing. “Today was rough,” she admitted. “How are you girls feeling?” she asked the twins.
“Just fine now,” Jessie replied. “I actually like doing my school work without my red sun band. It helps me remember more and I can write things down faster.”
“Interesting,” Kara commented. “Well, you’re welcome to study however you want. I’m not opposed, as long as you’re soaking up the information you need.”
“I want to hurry up and finish high school,” Jessie admitted. “Lena went to college when she was 16. I want to do that too.”
Kara smiled at her daughter. “I’m fine with that. As long as you promise to finish college.”
“I will,” Jessie promised. “I’m going to take Criminal Justice like Maggie, and then I’m gonna go to the Police Academy.”
Kara’s eyes widened. “Oh, OK. You’ve got it all figured out then, huh?”
Jessie nodded.
“I want to go to college for art!” Jamie announced. “I want to learn how to restore old paintings. Or maybe work in a museum.”
“I thought you guys wanted to be Superheroes?” Kara chuckled. Jamie was always changing her mind about what she wanted to do when she grew up.
“That’s why I want to do art,” Jamie explained. “Then I can be free to do whatever I want, whenever I want.”
“I want to work with Maggie,” Jessie shrugged. “I can fight rogue aliens on the side.”
Speaking of Maggie, the detective walked through the door, looking grim.
“Hi, honey bunny,” Kara greeted her with hugs and kisses. “Are you OK?”
Maggie leaned into Kara’s embrace, soaking up the affection. “It was a long day.”
“Same,” Kara replied. “Good news, though. Pestilence is taken care of. She’s dead. No more people getting sick.”
“Thank God,” Maggie sighed. “When the Chief got sick, I nearly lost it.”
Kara rubbed her back soothingly. “I know, honey. I’m sorry. He’s going to be OK, though.”
“I know,” Maggie nodded.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Kara announced.
“I can make you guys something,” Ruby volunteered. Two seconds later, her phone rang, and she hurried to answer it. “Mom! Are you OK?” she asked worriedly.
“I’m OK, baby,” Sam said unconvincingly.
“What’s wrong? Why can’t I come up there?” Ruby whined.
“I can’t have you getting sick like the twins did,” Sam lied. “Just hang in there. It should only be a few more days before we get this figured out. I’m not disappearing on you.”
Ruby pouted. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, baby,” Sam answered. “Listen, I’ll call you later, and we can talk more OK?”
“OK,” Ruby grumbled. “I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” Ruby huffed, but remembered that she had promised to help make food, so she busied herself with that.
It wasn’t long before Lena and Alex came home, and they all sat around the dining room table catching up on the day’s events.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone