I'm going to ask everyone's forgiveness ahead of time if I'm extremely short regarding comments or seem on edge. I was browsing the superarrow tag last night and found a story that's copied the majority of "One Call Away" word for word. There is some original stuff - involving Iris arriving with Cisco and Alex coming with Kara, for example - but there's also a lot of word for word similarities. I'm hoping to work this out with that user, but if I seem edgy with you, please do not take it personally. This is just me being a tense wreck over here.

Anyway, you're not here to hear me rant about that, you're here to read this! The arcade doesn't go too smoothly (at first), the Tech Brigade make a discovery, James has a heart to heart with Kara and Winn, and the team starts their plan against the fanatics.

Enjoy!

***

"You must deliver Tanya and the journal to the corner of Pacific and First at five p.m.," Kara read off, narrowing her eyes angrily. "If you fail to show up, we will go live with this video and reveal James Olsen as Guardian to all of National City."

Tanya's face fell, and she buried her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry I put you at risk."

"No, no, it's not your fault," James shook his head.

"If they expose your identity, then you're a vigilante!" Tanya protested, panicking. "They could arrest, and then all of those people that you put in jail, they'd know who you are! They could go after you!"

"Tanya, it is not about that right now," James held up his hand, trying to calm her down. "This is about protecting you."

"We have three hours," Kara nodded. "We can find Olivia and her followers before anything happens to James."

***

When Evelyn quietly reported that Ruby had plopped herself down at one of the tables and wasn't budging, Alex put a smile on her face and walked over. "Hey, look," she pointed. "there's no line at Dance Dance Revolution!"

"I don't wanna do it," Ruby shook her head.

Alex chewed her lip, then sat across from. "Look, Ruby," she said quietly, making her look up. "I know you miss your mom, and I know that you're in pain. Please, let me help you."

"All of you made me come here," Ruby reminded her. "I told you I didn't want to."

"I know," Alex nodded, noticing Oliver approach out of the corner of her eye. "Sometimes, when we're in pain, it can feel like we're sinking, like quicksand. And experts in this kind of thing, they say that when we are in pain, the best thing to do is surround ourselves with loved ones who can bring us back to life. So, I'm just trying to help you. We all are."

"Ruby," Oliver said as he walked over and sat down as well, drawing her attention to him. "Take it from someone who has had their whole world turned upside down like you. It is extremely difficult to get through this by yourself with no one to help you."

Ruby looked at him dubiously. "Really?"

"Really," Oliver nodded. "My dad shot himself in the head so I could survive after our family's boat went down. My mom sacrificed her life so Thea and I could live." He considered telling Ruby that it was Slade who had killed his mother, then decided that was something she probably shouldn't hear. "Thea nearly died; if we hadn't healed her just in time, she would have never recovered. And last summer, I nearly lost all of my friends and family. I never could have saved them all if I didn't have the help I did. Ruby, I promise, at this very moment Lena is working tooth and nail to bring your mother back. I know you have been through a whirlwind of change these last few weeks, but I promise you are not alone in this. We're all here for you." He tilted his head to the side, where William, Evelyn, and Zoe were doing very poorly in pretending they weren't paying attention. "Especially those three."

Ruby chewed her lip. "Aside from your trial, I actually liked it in Star City," she admitted hesitantly. "I was in a city where I wasn't reminded my mom was Reign."

Oliver nodded in understanding. "That's completely understandable," he told her. "And hopefully soon, your mom won't be Reign any longer." He leaned in and conspiratorially whispered, "I'd hate to be called a liar."

Ruby giggled. "Thank you, Oliver."

"No problem, Ruby," he winked.

The joyful mood vanished from his face when M'yrnn's voice rose above everyone's. "No! Don't take them!" Oliver was gone from his seat in a second, and Evelyn scampered after him. Alex, Ruby, William, and Zoe brought up the rear, and they found M'yrnn rushing one of the arcade games. "No! You will not harm them!"

"Father!" J'onn burst through the crowd, he and Oliver running to ground M'yrnn. "It's all right, Father! It isn't real!"

"Who is shooting at us?" the elder Martian looked around, eyes blown in terror.

"Oh, my God," Alex swallowed. 'M'yrnn!"

"Where is your mother?" M'yrnn demanded, looking around.

"Is he OK?" Ruby asked in concern.

"He's just confused," Alex assured her. "Let's get him out of here."

"Yep," Oliver nodded, helping J'onn lead M'yrnn out of the arcade.

"It's OK," Alex nodded, trying to convince herself as well as she ushered the kids out after them.

***

"No matches on any traffic cams or ATMs throughout the city," Felicity leaned back in her chair, frowning. "Wow."

"I get the whole 'Supergirl is incredible' deal, but a cult?" Lucy whistled. "That's new."

"Actually, it's . . . " Malcolm counted on his fingers. "About half a year old?"

Laurel sighed, and Lucy shook her head. "Run it against all open security feeds," she said, hoping to stop a verbal spat.

"You got it," Felicity spun around to her computer, Curtis bending over his keyboard again.

Behind them, Kara shook her head, leaning against the main console. "Olivia was so sweet and innocent when I first met her," she mumbled. "And now she's a cult leader." She sighed, looking up as the others gathered around. "I can't help but think this is my fault."

"Wait, how?" Mon-El blinked.

"Coville and his followers were going to hurt people in my name, so I cut my hand to prove to them I wasn't a god," Kara explained.

"Ouch," Rene winced.

Malcolm sighed, face palming while Laurel glared nastily at him. "Seriously?"

"Pun not intended," Rene raised his hands placatingly.

"The point is, the second she saw my vulnerability, she became disillusioned," Kara said. "I let my mask down for one second, and look what happens."

"You can't be all things to all people," Mon-El said. "All you can do is be true to yourself."

Kara smiled fondly. "My mom told me that. It was in her message for me, from my pod when I escaped Krypton."

"I think I'd like your mother," Dig said thoughtfully.

Kara smiled. "She'd like all of you."

"Even the murderers in the room?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

"Malcolm!" Laurel swatted his shoulder.

"Fair question!" Malcolm protested. "Her mother was a lawyer on Krypton!"

Kara sighed and rolled her eyes to the sky while Mon-El snickered. "I'm going to miss this bickering when I have to go back to the future."

"Any chance you could take me with you so I could avoid it?" Dig deadpanned.

"Oh, don't worry," Slade smirked. "They'll be too wrapped up in each other to notice if we leave."

Dig considered. "Good point."

"Hey!" both Malcolm and Laurel protested.

"I'll echo that! Hey!" Everyone turned towards the balcony where Winn looked down, eyes alight in excitement. "We found something!"

Kara ran for the stairs, Mon-El on her heels. By the time they were in the makeshift lab Lena was in, the rest of the team was following her. Lena looked up and nodded in acknowledgment before looking at Kara, Max tapping away on a tablet. "I just finished analyzing that residue that you found," she said. "What killed the girl wasn't a bomb at all. It was caused by a heavy metal reaction."

"A heavy metal not found on Earth," Max nodded, tilting his tablet Kara's way.

She, Felicity, and Curtis peered down at it. "I don't get it," Curtis finally said.

"Did the words 'not found on Earth' not even register?" Max frowned.

Kara, however, gasped in recognition. "I've seen this before!" She hurried past the table to Coville's journal, flipping through the pages. "Here," she pointed at the same formula. "The Rock of Yuda Kal. He says he found a statue of her in Addis Ababa made of Kryptonian stone."

"Yuda Kal," Mon-El repeated. "Isn't that the Kryptonian goddess of life?"

"I don't know anything about a goddess, but this is the exact inverse of what I need to cure Sam," Lena shrugged.

"We were wrong," Kara gulped. "They weren't using the rock to make a bomb . . . they're making a new Worldkiller."

"Oh, great," Malcolm rolled his eyes. "That's just what we need."

"Well, they already failed once," Slade pointed out. "Let's hope they don't succeed before we get to them."

"But if they keep trying and failing, that's more people dead," Dinah countered.

Lena suddenly straightened. "If the Rock of Yuda Kal can be used to make a Worldkiller, we could just reverse the process and use it to unmake one. We could turn Reign back into Sam permanently!"

"We can cure her!" Kara brightened.

***

The energetic high everyone got at the knowledge they finally had a potential way to cure Sam faded when James and Tanya walked into the D.E.O., a grim look on James's face. "James!" Kara blanched, hurrying over. "What happened? Was there another attack at CatCo?"

"No, no," James shook his head as the others gathered around worriedly. "I'm sorry to bring Tanya here, but I figured with all the threats out there, this is the safest place for her."

"You all right, man?" Winn tilted his head, noting the grim look as well.

James sighed. "I have decided to hold a press conference to reveal that I'm Guardian."

"No," Kara immediately shook her head as Slade and Malcolm exchanged alarmed looks. "You can't do that."

"I have to do that," James argued. "It's my only choice. It's already four o'clock. In an hour, they're gonna out me anyway. This is the only leverage they have on me, so if I can get out ahead of this, maybe I can cause them to shake up their plan or make a mistake."

"Isn't that just like that one movie?" Felicity wondered, making everyone look at her. "Oh, what was it . . . the one guy, his son gets kidnapped, and instead of paying the ransom, he flips the table?"

"Ransom?" Winn asked.

"Yes!" Felicity pointed at him with a grin. "That's it!"

"Felicity," Dig sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What?" Felicity blinked, then caught Mon-El hastily shaking his head at her. "Oh," she blanched. "I'm just – I'm gonna stop."

"Thank you," Mon-El gave her a thumbs up.

"If they use this again, someone could die," James said bluntly. "Or worse, they can make a Worldkiller. It's what I have to do."

Tanya looked down with a pained expression, and Kara and Winn looked at each other. They seemed to hold a silent conversation, then both nodded and ran after James as he headed for the stairs. "Hey!" Kara shouted. "James!"

"James!" Winn caught up just as quickly, both of them bracketing James on either side of him. "James, if you're doing this, we're coming with you."

"Absolutely," Kara nodded.

"Yeah, the Superfriends together, right?" Winn nodded. "We're gonna be right there with you."

James smiled, touched by his friends' concern. "I really appreciate that," he said honestly. "But you should continue working. Sam's life depends on it, right? And this cult needs to be found."

"Lena and Max are working on helping Sam," Winn reminded him.

"And Mon-El, Lucy, and the rest of Oliver's team are all working to find the cult, too," Kara added. "We're gonna be with our friend if he really wants to out himself."

James deflated, sighing. "It's a little more complicated than just 'outing myself.'"

"OK," Winn made a scrambled gesture with his hands. "So, run it by us."

James couldn't help but smile and chuckle as they walked into the conference room. "It's been a while since it was just the three of us in one room, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Kara smiled fondly, jumping up to sit on the conference table. "The old days when we used to work out of CatCo."

"The good times," Winn smiled, pulling up a chair to sit across from James. "You're still talking to us, man."

James sighed. "Well, for one, I'm a black man."

"But everyone knows that Guardian's a hero," Kara pointed out.

"Yeah, but not everyone knows that Guardian is black," James countered. "You know how old I was the first time cops put cuffs on me? Seven."

Winn balked. "Seven?"

"I was seven years old," James confirmed. "My family and I were taking a vacation. We were staying at this nice hotel and, uh . . . my cousins and I, we decided to go out on the grounds and play hide-and-go-seek. One minute, I'm trying my damnedest not to be found, and in the next, I'm shielding my eyes from police lights. And these four huge cops, they came and they pulled us out of our hiding places. And the whole time we're saying 'wait, what are you doing? We're staying here!' But none of them believed that we were supposed to be there. None of them believed that we belonged."

"James," Kara whispered, her voice cracking as she jumped down from the table to pull up a chair of her own and nudge it closer to James's side.

James closed his eyes, feeling Kara lay her head on his shoulder, accepting her hand and entwining their fingers. "So my oldest cousin must have been about eleven, and I was the smallest," he continued, giving Winn a watery smile when his best friend put his hand on his leg; he offered his hand, which Winn took immediately. "But they slapped cuffs on all of us anyway, and my arms were so little they had to put them around my forearms. And then they marched us into the hotel lobby like a bunch of criminals. And my mom was there." He scoffed. "And then they believed us." He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "She kept yelling, 'get those cuffs off my boys.' Those cuffs . . . "

His voice finally broke, and Kara gave him a tight hug, Winn joining in from the other side. "James, that's horrible," Kara whimpered.

"Yeah," James sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "Racism is the oldest form of bullying."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you, man," Winn whispered, squeezing him.

James gave him a strained smile. "But when I became Guardian, I put that mask on . . . it was strangely liberating. But it was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to be judged on my actions and my heart, not how I look."

"You shouldn't have to wear a mask to be seen as how you really are, James," Kara shook her head, anger on her face. "Just . . . it shouldn't be that way."

"But it is," James sighed. "And it's like that for every seven-year-old boy who looks like me, but it's not gonna be like that if I have something to do with it."

"You'll effect change, James," Winn said firmly, eyes blazing with his sincerity. "You already are."

"Just . . . " Kara bit her lip. "Are you sure you wanna come out into the open?"

"I don't think anybody likes to be backed into a corner," James admitted. "Especially not me. And I don't know how people are gonna react when they realize that their neighborhood vigilante is black. But there's just too much at stake for me not to."

Kara dropped her head, looking worried and Winn looking resigned, then there was a cautious knock on the doorframe. "I'm sorry," Tanya chewed her lip nervously. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, of course," James nodded, looking at Kara and Winn.

They quickly got the hint and stood up, not before Kara kissed James's cheek and Winn gave him another hug. They hurriedly left the room, and Tanya took a deep breath, looking at James. "You don't have to reveal yourself for me," she said. "I'm gonna give myself up. I wanna face them. I wanna fight."

"No, no, Tanya," James immediately shook his head, fear lacing through him. "It is way too dangerous for that."

"No, I need to do this," Tanya argued. "For once, I need to take a risk and stand up for what I believe. I need to be myself."

James sighed, then nodded. "Well, you're not doing this alone."

***

"This was a bad idea," Alex buried her face in her hands. "A very bad idea. I'm sorry."

"I should've known the stimulation would be too much," J'onn shook his head.

Alex sighed. "I am burning those books."

Oliver patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Not everything can be learned from a book."

Alex smiled ruefully. "Like manipulating your way out of being charged with a life sentence?"

"Or how to deal with learning your mother's a Worldkiller," Oliver smirked. "How about we get the cars?"

"Yeah, I've gotta go deal with this guy," J'onn pointed.

"OK," Alex nodded.

J'onn walked over to M'yrnn, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Stay seated, Dad."

"Guys, can you please stay with M'yrnn?" Oliver asked the kids seated around the older Martian.

"Sure, Dad," William nodded.

He saw all four of them nod, and he and Alex left while J'onn veered in a different direction.

***

William heard something roll along the floor, then looked down when a small white ball stopped by M'yrnn's chair. The Martian leaned down and picked it up, eyeing it curiously. "What is this?"

Ruby peered at it. "A foosball," she answered.

"Foosball," M'yrnn tested the name, examining it closely. "Strange material. Buoyant, light substance."

"It's made of cork," Ruby nodded.

"I never would have known that," Zoe admitted.

"I know odd things," Ruby blushed.

"What is cork?" M'yrnn wondered.

The three other kids turned to Ruby, who blushed redder. "I'm not sure. I think it's made from trees?"

M'yrnn hummed. "We do not have cork trees on Mars."

"I still can't believe you and J'onn are from Mars," Zoe grinned widely.

"We are," M'yrnn smiled, seeming pleased with Zoe's excitement.

"Can I you something?" Ruby asked. M'yrnn nodded invitingly, and Ruby leaned forward. "What's it like there?"

"It was once a place of great nobility," M'yrnn answered. "People lived simply, yet with joy." He sighed, leaning back. "I long for that place."

"What happened?"

M'yrnn darkened. "War," he answered simply. "My family was killed a very long time ago."

Ruby fidgeted. "How did you recover?" she asked, making William look at her. "I mean, after that happened?"

"Faith," M'yrnn shrugged. "I believed if my heart remained pure, H'ronmeer would provide for me. It was difficult, but I was strong." He smiled, pointing at her. "Like you."

Ruby tilted her head. "H'ronmeer is, like, a god on Mars?"

"Kara said when she and Uncle J'onn went to Mars, they found a staff of H'ronmeer's," William recalled.

"You remember correctly," M'yrnn nodded.

"Did he come through?" Ruby asked quietly.

"He brought me back my son," M'yrnn smiled.

"That's the best way anyone could come through," Evelyn smiled. "Giving you back who you need most."

"Dad and Kara," William smiled.

"My dad," Zoe agreed.

"My son," M'yrnn nodded.

"Just the team," Evelyn smiled bashfully. "A family."

Ruby looked down at her hands. "Guess I have to have faith I'll get my mom back."

"If anyone can get her back, it's Kara and my dad," William told her. "They haven't failed yet, they won't stop now."

Ruby smiled in relief, then M'yrnn made a confused noise and set the ball on the table. "What is the purpose of foosball?" he asked.

Ruby blinked, then picked it up. "We can show you!"

***

When Alex and Oliver walked back into the arcade, they found a bewildered J'onn standing at an abandoned table. "Where did they go?" Alex balked.

M'yrnn's warm laughter suddenly came from nearby. "My little man hit it!"

"You scored a goal!" Ruby's equally warm laughter chimed in.

Surprised, the three found all five around a foosball table: M'yrnn and Ruby on one side, William and Zoe on the other, and Evelyn keeping score for them. "I love the foosball," M'yrnn decided gleefully.

Alex watched in stunned shock before grinning widely as Ruby cheered the older Martian on. "You're right," she said. "You can't learn that in a book."

"No, you can't," Oliver chuckled warmly, absently pulling his phone out of his pocket when it beeped.

When he looked down at it and his face froze, Alex looked at him. "What is it?"

"Old friends," Oliver said darkly, swallowing and putting his phone in his pocket. "I have to – "

"Go," Alex shooed him away, and Oliver hastily left, already dialing Slade's number on his phone to get updated on what was happening.

***

Tanya walked as confidently as she could, though internally, she was terrified out of her mind, Coville's journal under her arm. "Don't worry," Winn soothed over the comms. "As soon as you turn yourself over, he will find you."

"OK," Tanya took a deep breath.

"Be safe," James cautioned.

"I will," Tanya told him.

She kept walking, then a man in black pushed away from one of the buildings and joined her. "You have decided to come back to us," he said, a smug tone in his voice.

"I wasn't given a choice," Tanya said blankly, walking to the car he pointed out.

He held open the door, and Tanya climbed inside. Coville's journal was pulled from her hands, and Olivia glared at her even as her hands caressed the cover of the book reverently. Tanya took a deep breath, sitting next to her.

Then the door was held open despite it trying to shut. "Awesome!" Mon-El climbed inside, grinning widely and looking completely unlike a superhero in his jeans, seater, and glasses. "This is, uh . . . this is for Mike, right?" He sat down, then blinked in mock surprise when he saw Olivia staring at him. "Oh . . . sorry," he smiled sheepishly. "I'm pretty sure this is my lift."

"We're kind of in the middle of something, guy," one of the cult members sneered.

Mon-El blinked, then noticed the gun in his hand. "Oh, whoa," he looked back, eyes wide. Mon-El blinked, then noticed the gun in his hand. "Oh, whoa," he looked back, eyes wide. "Wait, are you . . . are you guys kidnapping this woman?"

"Just get out," Olivia scowled.

"That is – OK," Mon-El shook his head. "That's a highly illegal situation, and I'm gonna have to insist that – "

The man threw a punch, and Mon-El's head whipped to the side. "OK," he held up his hands, glasses askew. "Yeah."

Tanya gave Olivia a dirty look. "I'm not scared of you," she said blandly.

"I'm very scared of you," Mon-El smiled nervously. "So, should we put some music on, or . . . ?"

Olivia groaned, banging on the wall of the car. "Let's go."

***

As the car pulled away from the street cameras, Winn suddenly straightened. "Uh, you guys . . . uh, we cannot track them," he said nervously. "The van has some sort of scrambler on it. We lost comms, too."

James blanched and Kara's eyes widened, then everyone turned when Oliver entered the room, clad in his suit. "So find another way to figure out where they are," he said.

"Yes, sir," Winn spun around in his chair. "Good to have you back, Oliver."

Oliver smiled at Kara, who beamed brightly at him. "Good to be back."

***

I'm hoping to finish this episode some time during the week, maybe even before next weekend, so keep an eye out, everyone!