I really couldn't resist not getting to this episode. Kara and Sam working together, plus the opportunity to give Earth-1 characters other than Oliver, Malcolm, and Laurel time to work with Team Supergirl? Hell yeah, I'll start writing it. Plus, after this episode, there's only one more chapter before we finally get the Deathsteel reunion. :)

Alex breaks the news to Maggie, and Kara, Lena, and Sam learn something devastating from Lillian Luthor's devil successor, Morgan Edge.

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

Maggie opened her mouth, but she didn't answer. "I want you," she finally said, her voice choked up.

"Yeah, I know, babe," Alex nodded. "But I want kids. I'm always gonna want kids."

Maggie swallowed. "Then there's nothing else left." She looked at Alex, lifting her head high. "You have to say it."

"Maggie," Alex begged.

"You have to say it out loud. Please?"

Alex swallowed hard, then said it. "We can't be together."

***

"Hey, uh . . . something wrong?" Quentin asked as he entered Oliver's office, seeing the man tapping on his phone.

"Yeah, it sounded like something was," Thea added as she and Rene followed.

"Maybe," Oliver looked up. "Close the door?" Rene did, and Oliver sighed. "Kara texted, said she didn't have time to explain, but she said there's a major problem in National City, one Supergirl may not be much help for."

"That doesn't sound good," Quentin said bluntly.

"No, it doesn't," Oliver shook his head. "That's why I'm looking, seeing if anything's come – " He trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "Up."

"What's wrong, Hoss?" Rene asked.

Oliver walked over to them, tilting his phone horizontally so they could see Edge's statement at Lena's hospital. "Lead poisoning?" Thea whispered in shock. "Oh, my God."

"An outbreak?" Rene frowned.

"When the Daxamites attacked National City, Lena used a bomb to project lead into the atmosphere," Oliver explained. "According to Kara, it released a safe amount so it wouldn't affect humans, but it would kill the Daxamites unless they left. There hasn't been any signs of lead poisoning until now." He sighed, exiting the video. "I'm heading over."

Quentin thought for a moment, then turned. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

Oliver blinked, looking up. "What?"

"Well, it's like you said, there's been no sign of lead poisoning until now," Quentin shrugged. "And if Kara said it should have been safe for humans, I'm inclined to believe her. Maybe it's not the bomb after all, and if that's the case, I'm more than happy to help find out what's making all those children sick. Former police captain and detective doesn't hurt, either. Dinah could help, too."

"Maybe Felicity or Curtis could go with you, too," Thea suggested. "If it was Lena's tech that did this, maybe they could find out what happened with it."

Oliver sighed. "All right, fine. Call Dinah, I'll call Felicity. Let's go see what's going on. Can you two handle the office?" he looked at Thea and Rene.

"Please," Thea scoffed.

"We got it, Hoss," Rene nodded.

Oliver nodded, grabbing his suit jacket and heading out the door, Quentin following.

***

Kara was comforting Lena as they walked down the hall when they saw Sam back out of one of the rooms. "Sam?" Kara asked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Lena asked.

"Hey," Sam walked up. "Luke, one of Ruby's friends, collapsed this morning. Lead poisoning. I came with the paramedics, his mom just got here. I saw Edge's stunt, too. This whole thing is awful."

"All right, where do I sign?" Edge's voice came from nearby.

Lena bristled when she saw him, and Kara swallowed. "Lena," she warned.

"Where the hell do you get off?" Lena spat, storming his way, Kara hurrying after her.

Edge had the gall to hold up a finger as he signed something, and Lena stopped, jaw hanging open. "Thank you," Edge handed the form back, then put his pen back in his pocket. "That was me paying the end of the medical expenses at your hospital," he told her.

"So this is what your revenge looks like?" Lena scowled, Kara standing by her side.

"Have you ever heard of the cobra effect, Lena?" Edge raised an eyebrow, making Lena frown. "Colonial India, the British government, they realized there were snakes all over Delhi. They wanted them gone, so they offered a bounty for dead snakes. And then they realized people were breeding snakes for income. They thought everything was going really well. They realized they got slithering snakes all over Delhi. The whole thing backfired. Turns out, they made the problem worse. You understand?"

"You're a toxic predator," she answered.

"Unintended consequences," Edge told her. "You wanted to be a hero so bad, you didn't care who you hurt. Now people are gonna die."

"Even if all of this were true, Supergirl would be just as much to blame," Kara narrowed her eyes. She didn't like saying this, but she did anyway. "She made the call to use that device."

"Supergirl may have pushed the button, sure, but that tech was all Luthor," Edge shook his head.

"You're a bottom feeder," Lena hissed.

"But I didn't poison children," Edge said coldly, walking past them. "That was you."

***

"Ms. Luthor, is there anything I can get for you?" Eve asked worriedly as the two returned to CatCo with Sam in tow.

"Call the CDC and get every report they have on the outbreak," Lena answered. "I also need the victims' medical reports, and I wanna see every bit of data Morgan Edge has seen."

"Right away," she nodded. "And, uh . . . I'm so sorry."

Lena sighed, walking into the main office. "There has to be another explanation," Kara said firmly.

"There could be hundreds of other reasons why these kids are getting sick besides your device," Sam agreed, she and Kara sitting across from Lena.

"I mean, Edge is manipulating people to get revenge on you for buying CatCo," Kara nodded.

"He's ruthless, Lena," Sam looked at her. "You know that."

"Look, what if it's true, OK?" Lena asked. "I told Supergirl that the lead in the device was safe for humans. She wouldn't have used it if it wasn't safe."

"Yes, but using it saved all of us," Sam reminded her.

"Ms. Luthor!" James called, walking into the office.

"Mr. Olsen," she sighed, watching him. "Come to tell Kara 'I told you so?' Another Luthor takes innocent lives, news at 11?"

"Ms. Luthor, despite our differences and after everything that has happened because of your family, I would hope by now that you would recognize that I see you as more than just an extension of them," James gave her a look. "However, I do think that you should get ahead of this thing. Which, in my opinion, I think you should step down from CatCo so whatever we report, good or bad, comes off as truthful."

"No!" Kara protested. "That would look like an admission of guilt!"

"No, Kara, he's right," Lena sighed. "Whatever's happening, whoever's responsible, this is a public crisis, and the public deserves to be able to trust the reporting so that they can prepare themselves. The expect integrity from us. They deserve it, and they need it now more than ever. Mr. Olsen," she turned to him. "You will run CatCo until this is resolved, and I think I should also step down from L-Corp."

"Lena, we need you," Sam shook her head at once. "We need you to help guide the research."

"No, no, L-Corp has a brain trust that's more than capable, OK?" Lena insisted. "If I'm involved, I could be accused of covering things up, or even profiting from the sick. This can't be like Flint, Michigan, OK, where bureaucracy got in the way. Helping people has to be the focus."

"Kara?" a familiar voice called out, and Kara blinked, standing up and watching as Felicity scrambled through the office, Dinah right behind her, with Oliver and Quentin bringing up the rear. "Kara!"

"Felicity?" Kara asked in disbelief, walking up. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We're here to help, Malcolm and Laurel, too, they're back waiting for us with William," Oliver answered, looking at Lena out of the corner of his eye. "But also a heads up, someone followed right behind us – "

"Where is she?" an angry voice shouted. "Where's Lena Luthor?"

"And that's him," Quentin sighed.

"Sir!" Eve ran up to stop the man from storming in, Dinah turning to help her. "Sir, please, calm down."

"I need to see her!" the man growled. "She needs to answer for my son!" Dinah sighed, then looked into the office. Lena stood up and headed out to see what he had to say, Sam and Kara behind her. The man stepped forward, narrowing his eyes, and Eve hastily ran off. "You know he stopped breathing?" he told her. "They had to put a tube down his throat." Felicity put her hands over her mouth, eyes wide, as Oliver and Quentin exchanged glances. This had gotten much worse since Oliver had found what Edge had said. "My boy is twelve years old. He is supposed to be laughing, outside playing, not stuck in some hospital with the doctors telling me they don't know how to fix him! You rich people, you think you can do whatever you want, that we don't matter. My son matters!"

"I am sorry," Lena finally managed to get a word in as security arrived, Eve following them. "I – "

"You're sorry?!" the man yelled angrily, fighting against security to keep shouting at her. "You're gonna answer for what you did to my son! For what you did to all of them!"

Lena seemed frozen to the spot, shaking and swallowing. "Lena?" Felicity whispered.

She took a deep breath, then turned. "I want your best reporter covering this," she told James quietly. "I'm not hiding anything. Set a press conference for later today."

James sighed, then went to do as she asked, and Kara took a deep breath, turning to Oliver. "You didn't have to come," she whispered.

"Yeah, I did," Oliver put an arm around her shoulders, and Kara leaned into him, accepting his comfort. "Lena's your friend, you don't have to go through this alone."

"It's why we're here, Kara," Dinah smiled. "A few outside eyes and ears won't hurt."

"Thank you," Kara whispered. "It means a lot." She suddenly perked up. "Oh! Oliver, do you remember Sam?" she gestured to the other businesswoman. "She was at the waterfront with her daughter when the missiles hit."

"I remember," Oliver smiled, holding out a hand. "How is she? What was it, Ruby?"

"Yeah, Ruby," Sam smiled, nodding and shaking his hand. "She's doing fine, thank you for helping her, even if it was your son under there as well."

"Of course," Oliver nodded.

"And, uh, meet Quentin, Dinah, and Felicity," Kara made other introductions.

"Nice to meet you," Dinah smiled.

"You, too," Sam nodded. "Anything to help Lena."

***

"Lock her up!" the crowd was shouting as Oliver, Kara, Quentin, and Dinah worked their way through the crowd. "Lock her up! Lock her up! Lock her up!"

Lena swallowed as she took in the protesters from where she stood with James and Sam. "It's time, Ms. Luthor," James told her.

Lena nodded, then took a deep breath, straightened her jacket, and walked towards the stage and the podium set up. Kara gave her a thumbs up from where she stood, Oliver nodding his support. Lena smiled slightly as she stood at the microphones, taking another deep breath. "Good afternoon," she said. "I'm – I'm Lena Luthor." She winced, hearing the shouting at her, then shouted as well so she could be heard. "I know a lot of you here are angry! I hear you! I would be, myself, if I felt someone had poisoned my children." Things settled down slightly, so Lena stopped shouting and continued. "So, my thoughts go out to everyone who is afflicted. I heard what Morgan Edge told you this morning. And I wish I was up here to say something different, but . . . the truth is I don't know if my device hurt children. And until I do, I realize that none of you can have faith in me."

A faint click made Kara tense and look around. "Kara?" Oliver frowned.

"I heard something," she frowned, adjusting her glasses.

"Your faith is something I have worked harder than you may realize to keep, and the fact that I might have lost it breaks my heart," Lena continued.

"On your nine," Laurel's voice suddenly said through their comms.

Quentin turned that way, frowning. "That's the guy from the office."

Kara turned as well, narrowing her eyes when she saw him put his hand in his jacket pocket. Kara lowered her glasses to see what he was reaching for, then relaxed when she saw it was just a phone. "And so," Lena went on. "Until the investigation into the poisonings is concluded, I shall be stepping down from – "

Gunshots started ringing out, and Sam dove to the ground, James running to grab Lena. The crowd started screaming as Quentin and Dinah drew their guns, looking around for the shooter. Kara quickly snatched a bullet out of thin air before it hit Oliver, and he jerked back, looking at her. "Thanks!" he blew out a breath.

"Yeah," Kara nodded shakily, dropping the bullet.

There was a smack nearby, and they turned to see a figure in a hooded sweater yelp and drop their gun, a black arrow knocking it away. Oliver took a quick look to the side, in time to see Malcolm and Laurel in their vigilante suits disappear in the chaos. One of the security guards grabbed the shooter, removing their hood to reveal a crying young woman.

"Help!" Lena suddenly screamed from the stage, and Oliver and Kara whipped around to see Lena bending over James, looking around frantically, her hands stained red. "Somebody help me!"

Kara ran for the stage, Oliver behind her, and she climbed up to Lena's side, blanching when she saw the gunshot wound in James's shoulder, his blood steadily staining his shirt. "James," she whispered in horror as Oliver quickly took off his jacket to stem the blood, Dinah and Quentin running up with more officers.

***

This episode seemed like a good place to have Quentin, Dinah, and Felicity help. Quentin's a former police detective and the former captain, and Dinah's the current lieutenant, they'd be good help. And Felicity can always help with tech, so she fits in here, too. And, well, who better to intimidate Edge eventually than Malcolm and Laurel?

We'll see how much more of the episode gets done today. :)