“You told him what?!” J’onn roared, giving Kara an incredulous look.
A few hours had passed since she’d talked to Pryll, and the DEO team was now prepping for the recon mission. Kara figured it was a good time to bring up the conversation, since J’onn would be too distracted to get upset.
Apparently, she was wrong.
“I told Pryll he could help us retrieve the orichalcum when the time comes.” Kara said, jutting out her chin and standing her ground, though J’onn now towered over her. “Don’t worry. I have it all planned out.”
Alex rubbed her forehead. “Kara, that wasn’t your call to make.”
“Maybe not, but it was the right one,” Kara insisted, looking from J’onn to Alex. “All Pryll has wanted since he got here was to reclaim his treasure, not to wait around for someone else to do it. His pride is tied to this.”
“His pride is a liability.” J’onn crossed his arms. “Need I remind you that he threw you and your sister across the room while trying to escape?”
Kara opened her mouth to protest again, but Mon-El stepped forward. “I agree with Kara. Pryll should be involved. He’s the last of his kind.”
“So am I,” said J’onn.
“Then you can understand,” said Kara, grabbing J’onn’s arm. “What if you were charged with protecting a Martian artifact, and it was stolen? Wouldn’t you want to be the one to recover it?”
J’onn was silent for a moment. Then he pointed at Kara. “No more decisions without my consent.” He walked over to Winn’s computer. “Mr. Schott, have you finished Mon-El’s voice modulator?”
Since the DEO had captured Hard Charger and Flamethrower, J’onn, who could shape-shift on his own, and Mon-El, who could shape-shift with his new power, planned to impersonate them and infiltrate the supercitizen hideout. And since Kara hadn’t been seen by the evil supercitizens in her human guise, she’d be joining them, with Alex and Winn watching remotely.
“One new voice, made to order,” Winn said, handing a tiny metal disk to Mon-El. “Just peel off the backing and stick it to your throat.” Winn tapped his own Adam’s apple.
“Won’t that be a little obvious?” asked Alex as Mon-El attached the disk. The shiny metal reflected the lights of the control room.
“When Mon-El changes into Hard Charger, the disk should disappear, along with Mon-El’s usual appearance,” said J’onn. To prove his point, he shifted into the guise of Flamethrower. Any semblance of J’onn vanished.
Alex spoke into an intercom. “Bring Prisoner 60 to the control room.”
“How does this work?” Mon-El pointed to the voice modulator.
“Press it once to turn it on, and again to turn it off,” said Winn.
Mon-El pressed the disk and asked, “How do I sound?” in a harsh, nasal voice.
“Obnoxious and perfect,” said Winn. He handed plastic tubes of liquid to J’onn, Mon-El, and Kara. “These contain micro-cams so Alex and I can see what you see. You put them in like contact lenses.”
Kara unscrewed her tube and fished out the micro-cam. The circle resembling the iris was blue like hers, except for a few intricate copper traces running through it. She pressed the micro-cam against her eye and blinked a few times to fix it in place. “How’s that?” she asked Winn.
He turned toward his computer and punched a few keys. A side-angle view of him at his computer appeared on-screen, with KARA written across the top. The picture went black for a moment as Kara blinked.
“Perfect,” said Winn. He punched a few more keys to check J’onn’s and Mon-El’s micro-cams just as two DEO agents appeared with a scowling Hard Charger between them.
Hard Charger’s scowl turned into a look of confusion at the sight of Flamethrower hanging out with her captors.
“Elaine? What are you doing out here?” he asked J’onn.
“Showtime,” Mon-El whispered to Kara. He reached out and put a hand on Hard Charger’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy,” he said in a soothing voice. “I’ll bet you’re pretty confused right now.”
“I thought she was a Dominant like me. But now . . .” He trailed off, and his eyes widened as Mon-El shifted to match his appearance.
“Surprise!” Mon-El threw his arms open, and Hard Charger gasped. “You see this in the mirror every day,” Mon-El told him. “I don’t know why it scares you now.”
Hard Charger backed away from Mon-El and into J’onn, who grabbed one of his arms.
“You referred to me as a Dominant. Is that what the residents of Shady Oaks call themselves?” he asked.
Hard Charger swallowed and nodded. “Those of us who stayed together, anyway. The ones with more dominant powers.”
“Charming,” said Alex. She nodded to the DEO agents. “You can take him back now.”
“No, wait!” cried Hard Charger. “I can give you information! I can tell you where our hideout is!” Horns sprouted from his head, and he tried to head-butt one of the DEO agents, but the other one clubbed him with a baton.
“Man, he caved quick,” Kara said, watching the DEO agents drag Hard Charger away.
“He’s sharing a cell with an alien who farts every fifteen minutes,” Alex said. “I’d tell the world you were Supergirl to get out of that situation.” She gave her sister a teasing smile.
Kara smirked. “Nice to know your breaking point comes from a Casa de Grasa burrito.”
J’onn approached them, still as Flamethrower. “It’s time to go.”
“Good luck!” called Alex, as J’onn, Kara, and Mon-El approached the balcony. “Don’t get caught.”
Kara hooked her arm through Mon-El’s and took off, with J’onn quickly catching up.
“Let’s land behind the theater,” said J’onn, flying beside her.
Kara nodded. The DEO had been monitoring the Imperial Theater since they’d discovered the hideout. All the Dominants seemed to enter and exit through the loading dock.
J’onn hooked his arm through Kara’s to give the illusion that she was carrying both Flamethrower and Hard Charger, and the trio touched down. J’onn approached the loading dock door first, hand on one hip in his sassiest pose, and Kara couldn’t help but smile.
Just as they’d seen people do in the surveillance footage, J’onn knocked three times, then paused, and then knocked five times.
“Who’s there?” a young female voice asked from the other side of the door.
“It’s Elaine,” said J’onn. “From apartment 404. I’ve got some other tenants with me who want to help.”
Kara used her X-ray vision to see through the door. The little Braidzilla who’d attacked Supergirl with her hair had the remainder of it tucked under a ball cap and was talking to the Human Sponge.
Kara held her breath until the man nodded, and Braidzilla shifted the latch to unlock the dock door.
As the door rolled up, the Human Sponge studied all three members of the DEO team.
“So where have you two been?” he asked J’onn and Mon-El. “Elaine, your husband’s been worrying like crazy. Why didn’t you tell him you were coming?”
“We’ve been in hiding,” answered J’onn. “I couldn’t risk contacting him.”
The Human Sponge nodded and pointed at Kara. “And who’s this? I don’t recognize you from Shady Oaks.”
“I’m Bianca,” said Kara. “I’m, uh, his girlfriend.” She linked arms with the stocky, hairy version of Mon-El.
The Human Sponge wrinkled his nose. “Really? You’re with Bert?”
“Well, she ain’t with Ernie,” said Mon-El with a chuckle.
The Human Sponge stared at him.
Mon-El cleared his throat. “You know, like Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street? The show about sharing and trash can monsters?”
The Human Sponge snickered. “Yeah, that sounds about your intelligence level, Bert. Well, good for you, getting the girl.” He nodded to Kara. “Do you have powers?”
In answer, she floated above the ground. “I can do this.”
The Human Sponge rubbed his chin. “That might come in handy if we need to make a quick getaway.”
“Getaway?” J’onn repeated, feigning concern. “Aren’t we safe here?”
“We’re fine for now, but at some point the cops are gonna catch wise.” The Human Sponge glanced past the DEO team. “Which means you should probably come inside before anyone gets suspicious. This theater’s supposed to be closed for renovations until next month.”
Kara exchanged a glance with Mon-El. That explained how nobody else had discovered them yet.
“How have you been feeling?” the Human Sponge asked J’onn.
“Feeling?” J’onn repeated.
“You know, superpower side effects,” said the Human Sponge. “Nosebleeds, fainting spells . . .”
“Yes, of course,” said J’onn. “I did have a nosebleed, now that you mention it.”
“Well, we’ve got a nurse in the control booth upstairs if you need first aid,” said the Human Sponge. He pointed above them to the theater’s catwalk.
“How many people are staying here?” asked Kara, glancing around at the stage lights and rigging. Most of the bulbs had been smashed, and the rigging was covered in slime.
“About twenty,” said the Human Sponge. “We’re still trying to track down the other tenants.”
Alex’s voice tickled Kara’s ear. “See if you can find out what kind of powers they have.”
“Am I the only person here who can fly?” Kara asked, following the Human Sponge across the loading dock.
“No, we’ve got a woman with a propeller on her back and a guy who can make himself weightless,” said the Human Sponge. “Watch your step. Jake was on lookout a while ago, and his slime dripped all over the place.”
“Lookout? Is he the one guarding the orichalcum?” asked Kara.
“Careful, Kara,” Alex spoke in her ear.
“Yeah, ease your way in,” said Winn.
The Human Sponge stopped and turned. “You know, you ask a lot of questions.”
Kara picked up a hundred-pound rigging sandbag with one hand. “I just want to make sure I’m not wasting my time.” She tossed the bag effortlessly—as though it contained marshmallows—to the Human Sponge, who almost collapsed under the weight. “Are you guarding the orichalcum carefully or not?”
The Human Sponge lowered the bag to the ground and raised his eyebrow in suspicion. “You have two powers?”
Oops.
Inwardly, Kara chided herself. Why did she have to show off?
“Tell him yes; you’re a myrmecologist,” Alex spoke into Kara’s ear.
She adjusted her glasses and looked the Human Sponge in the eye. “Of course I do. I’m a mermaid-ologist.”
Alex and Winn groaned in stereo.
“Myrmecologist!” they said in unison.
“You’re a what?” the Human Sponge asked.
“A myrmecologist,” Kara corrected.
“She studies ants,” J’onn explained. “Queen ants, to be specific.”
Winn hooted. “Look at the big brains on J’onn!”
The Human Sponge relaxed. “Oh, right. Because they can fly, and ants are really strong.”
“Yep!” Kara nodded emphatically. “That’s exactly why.” She crossed her arms. “So is the orichalcum safe or not?”
“It’s safe,” said the Human Sponge. “We keep it with us in the orchestra pit.”
They followed him backstage and down a set of stairs leading to a door. As soon as he opened it, the stench of body odor assaulted Kara’s nostrils. She covered her mouth and nose, while beside her Mon-El coughed.
Fifteen heads swiveled in their direction and then just as quickly returned to their activities. Most of the people looked normal, but what they were doing to pass the time clearly wasn’t.
A man with a deck of cards was building a house, but instead of a flimsy structure, he appeared to be fusing the makeshift walls together with a touch of his fingertips. A few people were playing a game rolling dice with levitation, with thunderous claps, or by making the floor shake. There was a woman doing one-fingered push-ups while a man sat on her back, eating a box of nails.
Kara did her best to take it all in for Winn and Alex.
“So much awesome in one room,” whispered Winn.
“So much odor in one room,” Kara said.
The Human Sponge smirked at her, unaware that the comment was directed at Winn. “Yeah, but it’s the only place they can’t see us while they’re doing renovations. We’re lucky this pit has a lid on it.” He pointed to the pit filler over their heads.
“Is that why you smashed all the lightbulbs on the catwalk?” asked Kara.
“Nah. That was for our new guy, Shadow,” said the Human Sponge. “He can’t stand the light.”
“Was he up there just now?” asked J’onn, pointing toward the catwalk.
“Yeah,” the Human Sponge said with a chuckle. “He’s kind of invisible, so be careful what you say about him.”
“Elaine!” A man pushed through the others to reach J’onn.
It was Mr. Slick, the slimy guy in swim trunks who’d stolen the orichalcum.
Kara stepped between Mr. Slick and J’onn, whose eyes were wide with alarm.
“You must be Jake, Elaine’s husband,” Kara said, extending a hand to Mr. Slick.
She instantly regretted it when he covered her palm with goop as he shook it.
“Hey, nice to meet you. Excuse me.” He slipped past Kara and grabbed J’onn around the middle.
“Elaine, my honey bear!” He went in for a kiss and J’onn winced at the slimy lips on his.
“Hello, husband,” said J’onn.
Alex sighed. “Seriously, J’onn? That’s the most romantic sentiment you can muster?”
Mr. Slick pulled away from J’onn with a perplexed look. “Hello, husband?”
J’onn closed his eyes, reaching into Mr. Slick’s mind, and when he opened them again, said, “I mean . . . Snickerdoodlepoo.”
Kara snorted a laugh, but Mr. Slick didn’t notice. He was beaming at J’onn.
“That’s better. Where have you been, honey bear?”
“I was hiding with friends.” J’onn indicated Kara and Mon-El. “I wasn’t sure if it was really you just now. That’s why I called you husband.”
“Oh, right. Because Pete can change his appearance.” Jake gestured to the far corner. “Well, come have a seat. You guys are welcome, too.” He smiled at Kara and Mon-El.
“We’d love to,” said Kara. “But I think my boyfriend and I would like to see the nurse first.” She turned to the Human Sponge. “Where did you say she is?”
“Control booth,” said the Human Sponge. “Take the ladder up to the catwalk, and it’s across the theater.”
“We’ll be back soon,” Kara told J’onn.
“Hurry,” he said, forcing a smile. “You don’t want to miss all the fun.”
Kara and Mon-El left the orchestra pit and were back in the loading dock before Alex’s voice spoke in Kara’s ear again.
“We don’t know where that Shadow guy could be hiding, so don’t answer me out loud,” said Alex. “But you need to find out how much the nurse knows about orichalcum. The people in the orchestra pit weren’t afraid to use their powers, so either they don’t know they’ll be running out soon, or they’ve already figured it out and have been tapping into the orichalcum they stole from the museum.”
Kara gave a slight nod of her head, and she and Mon-El climbed the ladder to the catwalk.
They quietly traversed the theater, and when Kara opened the control booth door, there were only two people in the room: a woman in hospital scrubs and a man lying on the floor.
“Hello,” the woman greeted them with a pleasant smile. She held an IV bag of red-tinged fluid in one hand that was being dripped into the arm of the man on the floor. But the fluid wasn't blood.
Kara clutched at Mon-El’s hand.
There was no question about it. The Dominants were definitely using the orichalcum.
“I can’t believe they’re using more orichalcum.” Alex’s forehead wrinkled with worry. “How are they not getting even sicker?”
Kara and Mon-El were back at the DEO, discussing their recon mission with Alex, Winn, and James, who’d returned from CatCo.
“Apparently, when the nurse gives them an orichalcum refill, she also throws in something called dactinomycin,” said Kara.
“Dactino . . .” Alex sighed and buried her face in her hands. “Doctors use that to treat chemotherapy patients. It kills white blood cells.”
“Well, no white blood cells would mean nothing attacks the orichalcum,” pointed out James.
“Yes, but it also means the people taking it can get life-threatening infections much easier,” said Alex.
“I tried to tell the nurse orichalcum was bad,” said Kara, shrugging. “She seems to think people are getting sick from not having enough.”
“When it’s really the opposite,” said James. He folded his hands in front of him. “All right. Give me the antidote.”
His request earned looks of surprise. So far, nobody had told him the antidote merely stopped the onslaught of white blood cells—that it didn’t affect a person’s power at all.
Which meant James was truly willing to give up his power.
“You want to take the antidote?” asked Kara.
James smiled at her shocked expression. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot today. This orichalcum affects people, physically and mentally.” He shook his head. “A superpower would be nice, but not if it costs me who I already am.”
“Aw, James!” Kara leaned over and hugged him. “That’s so great to hear.” She adjusted her glasses. “But this antidote won’t take your power. It just keeps the orichalcum from causing a dangerous overreaction in the body.”
Instead of the whoop of joy she expected, James nodded solemnly. “Then we’d better take advantage of my power while I still have it.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” J’onn’s voice carried down the steps as he entered the control room in his Hank Henshaw form. “Time is now working against us.”
Alex got to her feet. “J’onn! What are you doing here?”
“I convinced Mr. Slick and the others that I was going to recruit more supercitizens to join them. After they informed me of their plans to replicate the orichalcum.”
“Replicate it?” Kara frowned. “That’s not possible.”
J’onn sat on the edge of Winn’s desk. “How are people getting their superpowers, Miss Danvers?”
Kara hesitated before answering. “It comes from whatever they’re focused on.” Then she groaned and bowed her head. “So why not focus on replicating the orichalcum?”
“Exactly.”
“Yeah, but to create something with that much power . . .” Alex shook her head. “That could be lethal.”
“It has been lethal,” J’onn said, clenching his jaw. “Since the Dominants already have powers, they tried recruiting an outsider to do it—a sister of one of the tenants. The blood in her body boiled, and she died.”
Kara and Alex clapped hands over their mouths, and James and Mon-El stared at the floor.
“But they’re going to try again, aren’t they?” Winn asked in a tremulous voice.
“Until they get it right,” said J’onn. “Or until someone stops them.”
Alex narrowed her eyes. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“What are you thinking, Agent Danvers?” asked J’onn.
“We let them go to sleep. Lull them into a false sense of security, and just before dawn, we strike,” Alex said.
“Even with all our field agents, that’s fifteen of our people—only some of whom have powers—to their twenty, all of whom have powers,” said J’onn. “They have us outnumbered and outmatched.”
Winn raised his hand. “Not if we take up the offers of the supercitizens who called the hotline to help.”
“Yeah, right,” Alex scoffed. “We can’t ask innocent people to risk their lives.” She looked to Kara for agreement, but Kara was tapping her fingertips against her lower lip.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she finally said.
“What?!” Alex exclaimed.
Winn pumped his fist. “Yes! Superbattle!”
Kara zipped around the corner and returned as Supergirl. “I’ll start recruiting!”
“No way,” said Alex, waving her arms. “We cannot get them involved.”
“Why not? It sounds good to me,” said Mon-El.
“Me, too,” said James.
J’onn remained oddly quiet.
“This city isn’t just ours to protect, Alex,” said Supergirl. The realization was starting to hit her. All those citizens she’d scolded for using their powers . . . they just wanted to make a difference.
“National City belongs to everyone out there, too.” Supergirl pointed to the skyline. “Yes, things might get dangerous, but if these supercitizens fight beside us, I think we can win. They know the people they’re up against. They might even be able to get them to stand down.”
“I don’t know . . .” Alex’s arms relaxed at her side, but her expression was pained.
Supergirl touched a hand to the S on her chest. “Stronger together, Alex. All of us.”
Alex sighed and gestured to J’onn. “It’s up to the big boss.”
Everyone turned to J’onn, who had his hands clasped behind his back.
“Mr. Schott,” he said, “do you still have the phone numbers for those supercitizens who want to help?”
Winn flashed a stack of papers. “Absolutely.”
J’onn nodded. “Then let’s find out what they’re capable of.”