Winn Schott

"Jeez," Winn whistled as James held up the bullet that had lodged in his shoulder. "If that bullet had a little more stopping power, your shoulder would be a mess."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time," James sighed.

"Edge riled them up, he knew what he was doing," Kara remarked.

"The shooter just found out that her son took a turn for the worse," James told her. "I'm not making any excuses, but she just went after who she thought was responsible."

"Poor woman," Lena said sadly.

"What are you saying?" Kara scowled. "You still think that Lena is responsible for what's happening?"

"I'm not saying that she did this," James shook his head. "I'm just saying that maybe this happened because of what she did."

"Semantics."

"She jerry-rigged that device to do something it was never intended to do," James pointed out. "Look, I know you don't wanna hear this, but that device was invented by Lex Luthor."

"There's another reason to hate Lex," Clark sighed.

"Which is why we're testing it," Winn said, standing up. "Felicity and I are ready whenever you are."

"Then let's test it," Kara nodded.

Kara Danvers

"OK, so we sealed off the room to contain the lead cloud," Winn explained as he and Felicity led Kara, Oliver, and the other Earth-1ers through the D.E.O.

"And we have some sensors that will analyze the particulate," Felicity added.

"How will you know if the device is the cause?" Quentin asked.

"OK, so when Lena and I crunched the numbers during the invasion, like, 99.96% of the molecules bonded to Daxamite genes," Winn answered.

"Which basically means that if it hits a human, it evaporates," Felicity explained when everyone looked blankly at Winn. "No harm done."

"The rest, you know, 0.04% we chalked up to margin of error," Winn finished.

"So if that number is the same, it's not Lena's device," Oliver concluded.

"Exactly," Felicity nodded.

"OK, hit it," Kara ordered.

"Great," Winn pressed a button on his tablet.

The device whirred, then let out a cloud of dark grey particles in a flash of blue. Malcolm whistled, impressed. "That's clever."

"Anything?" Kara turned to Winn and Felicity as they bent over his tablet.

"Hold, please," Felicity said absently.

"It is . . . " Winn began, then his eyes widened.

"What?" Kara asked worriedly.

"Whoo," Felicity's eyes widened, and she and Winn exchanged looks.

"Guys, what's the percentage?" Oliver demanded.

Winn winced, then held up the tablet to show them. "89.79?!" Laurel's jaw dropped.

"No no no no no no no no no no no," Lena was panicking. "10 percent!"

"There's a 90 percent chance it wasn't," Harry reminded her.

"There's a 10% chance the device is the cause?" Dinah breathed in shock.

"Actually, 10.21," Felicity smiled nervously.

Kara groaned, burying her face in her hands, Oliver rubbing her back comfortingly.

Lena Luthor

Lena finished washing her hands, shutting off the sink, then swallowed, looking down at her hands. "Someone just – " She swallowed hard. "Someone just tried to kill me. I shouldn't be putting you and Ruby in danger."

"That woman is in custody, thanks to one of those occasional vigilantes," Sam shook her head, closing the refrigerator door. "No one will be looking for you here. You're safe. So take your Louis Vuittons off, relax, and chug this."

"Really isn't necessary," Lena shook her head, even as she took the glass of water she held out.

"Stop it," Sam shook her head. "You're dehydrated."

"You could have been shot," Lena argued. "You shouldn't be hiding me!"

"Whats a friendship if your not in risk of being shot at least once?"

"You gave me a break when I needed it the most," Sam argued right back. "Let me return the favor."

Lena was about to argue again when she caught sight of movement behind Sam. Ruby entered the living room, her arms piled high with sheets and blankets. Sam smiled fondly at her daughter, and Lena sighed. "One night," she finally agreed.

"Great," Sam grinned. "See? This is what friends are for!"

"If Ruby was sick, would you still be my friend?" Lena asked quietly.

"I would still help you. Because you didn't do it," Sam said. Ruby and Sam hugged Lena.

Sam bit her lip, looking down.

Alex Danvers

Alex tried to not look at Maggie as she kept packing one of her boxes, then suddenly, the music playing on her phone changed. She looked up from what she was doing, seeing Maggie toss back a shot like it was nothing before offering the bottle. Alex sighed, then took it, chugging a drink of her own, making Maggie laugh and start dancing. She held out her arms, and Alex took her hands, allowing Maggie to pull her into a dance, smiling.

She and Maggie spent a few minutes dancing before Alex pulled Maggie close, kissing her hard. She started pushing Maggie back towards her bed, and smiling, Maggie helped tug the auburn-haired woman's shirt off.

Kara Danvers

Kara slowly opened Sam's door, frowning when she saw the lights inside were off. She heard a glass shatter, then straightened. "Lena?"

She found Lena sitting at the island looking like a wreck. "Hey," she said. "Hey, look." She held up the wine bottle before pouring herself another glass. "I made a metaphor."

"I don't like drunk Aunt Lena," Rose said.

"Maybe drunk Aunt Lena should meet drunk Aunt Kara and drunk Uncle Barry," Rebecca said.

"No!" Kara and Barry said loudly.

"Are you here alone?" Kara looked around.

"Sam's running my company, Ruby's at a friend's," Lena nodded. "What news from the front?"

Kara cleaned up the glass shards, then sighed. "Winn and Felicity tested the device again," she answered.

"And?" Lena pressed. When Kara didn't answer, she closed her eyes. "Great," she grumbled. "So I could be a child killer."

"There's still only a 10 percent chance."

"No, Lena," Kara shook her head determinedly. "I'm not done. Not by a long shot. Until we know for sure, I will turn over every rock, and – "

"Just stop," Lena held up a hand, reaching out to take another drink.

Kara blinked, sitting down. "You are one of the strongest women I know," she looked at her in disbelief. "Why aren't you fighting?"

"Because I did it," Lena said bluntly. "Kara, I did it. You know, all I ever wanted to be was good. My whole life, I was a pariah. First, because I was rich, and because of my brother, so . . . and then, finally I did just – just one thing, one thing that was good, and now I'm the monster that poisons children." She chuckled bitterly. "You know, even Lex Luthor never did that."

Everyone was assuring Lena that she was good.

"Anyone who knows you knows that you would never – " Kara began, watching Lena take another swig.

"Maybe I'm the same," Lena interrupted, tears in her eyes. "People are sick. It's my fault."

"There's still a chance it wasn't you," Kara shook her head.

"I know you believe that everything is good, and kind, and that is one of the things I love about you," Lena shook her head. "But that's not the real world. In the real world, my last name is bin Laden, and everything I do hurts people. Hey, you know, it's – it's in my DNA, OK? So, please, just – just – just stop. Stop believing me, OK? I am not worth it."

Kara could do nothing but watch sadly as Lena kept taking drink after drink.

Kara Danvers

She was working on her laptop when Sam returned from L-Corp. "Hey," Sam whispered.

"Hey," Kara waved back.

"Thanks for staying," Sam told her, looking over the couch at where Lena was sleeping.

"Yeah," Kara sighed. "She didn't want me to, but . . . " She shrugged.

"You know, I've known Lena a long time, and I've never seen her like this," Sam mused.

"She wants everyone to think she's so tough," Kara nodded.

"Yeah, but she is mush on the inside," Sam agreed, making both chuckle. "Hey, uh, if you wanna go home, I can sit with her."

"No, it's totally fine," Kara shook her head. "Last night was the first real night of sleep I got now that Oliver's back in town, so I'm pretty wide awake right now. I have trouble sleeping without him."

"Aww, thats cute," Thea said.

Alura and Will sighed, because they knew their dad didn't sleep well anymore.

"Aw," Sam giggled, making Kara blush slightly. "I've been having trouble sleeping, too. Bad dreams."

"Yeah, I get those, too," Kara agreed.

"OK, what's this?" Sam asked, referring to what Kara was searching.

"I've just been trying to skim through public records to get info on the families affected," Kara answered.

"I've been doing the same thing," Sam sat down next to her, opening a file and pulling out documents. "Um, the medical team at L-Corp was able to secure the addresses for all the sick children."

"So what happens when you connect the Xs?" Kara looked over her shoulder.

"Nothing," Sam sighed. "The movies lie. Usually, when something like this happens, those affected are from a specific area, but these kids are from all over the city. Luke, who I saw this morning at Ruby's school, he lives down the street. But then there are two kids who live across the city and go to Burgon Country Day. And then there's another one who lives all the way in Edgemont. I just . . . " She sighed, shaking her head. "Staring at this, trying to make sense of it . . . "

"There's gotta be some way these kids are connected," Kara insisted, wracking her brain. "Social media, school records, bank statements . . . maybe there's a link?"

"Bank statements," Sam decided. "Let's follow the money."

"Yes," Kara agreed, reaching for her phone. "I'll make a call."

"You don't have to," Sam shook her head, reaching for Kara's laptop and pulling up a link. "I'm on it."

Kara's jaw dropped when she saw the bank statements appear. "How did you . . . ?" She looked at Sam, but she was dead set on what she was doing, then she laughed. "I can see why Lena likes you."

"That was pretty good," Felicity complimented Sam, who blushed.

"Hmm," Sam frowned, pulling something up.

Kara looked at the statement, then found something. "Delaney's Dumpling Truck."

"Food truck?" Sam frowned. "What about it?"

"Well," Kara pointed, "Luke's dad and another mom went there on the same day a couple of weeks ago, October 21st. Maybe – maybe it's just a coincidence."

"Since when are there coincidences?"

"No, hold on," Sam frowned, typing again.

She pulled up other bank statements, and Kara's eyes widened. "They were all there."

"Could it be something in the food?" Sam wondered, typing some more. A link pulled up, and Sam read the ad that came up. "Oktoberfest at Frances Park."

"Could be something there," Kara said hopefully, she and Sam exchanging looks.

Alex Danvers

Alex and Maggie were both panting in bed later that night, then Maggie asked, "What are we doing?"

"I know," Alex smiled. "That was crazy."

Both of them laughed softly, then Maggie looked at her. "No, I mean, what are we doing? Are you sure you wanna give up on this? You sure you wanna do this? Give up on something tangible and real? Some – us. It's us, for some notion you have of being a mom?"

"Yes," Rose nodded.

"It's not some notion," Alex whispered, rolling onto her side and running her hands over her hair. "Ever since I was little, when I would see a mom and her kids, this thing would happen to me. You know, it's – it's recognition that I was gonna be a mom, too. And it wasn't some, you know, 'oh, I want it, I want that' or 'I hope someday that I have that.' No, it's just something that I've always known. Even when everything else, whether it was boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever . . . when – when that was blurry, the part of me being a mom, that's always been crystal clear. If I deny that, I'm gonna feel it forever."

Rose hugged her mom, causing another hug pile.

"Why Rose!?"

"You looked like you needed a hug. How was I supposed to know we would get smothered by three super puppies and a Rebecca?"

"I'm just hugging Alura. Just wanted to point that out."

Maggie nodded, swallowing. "I wish I could change the way I feel," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah," Alex nodded, kissing Maggie's shoulder. "Me, too."

Kara Danvers

"So many vendors and rides here," Kara shook her head, looking around Frances Park as she and Sam walked down the street. "It could have been anything. For all we know, it's gone."

"Unless it wasn't something outside," Sam frowned, heading up the drive to the pool. She tried the door, then sighed. "It's locked."

"Huh," Kara frowned, then walked up to the door as Sam turned around. She used her fingers to bend the metal, then pulled the door open.

Malcolm laughed, and said, "She doesn't even try to open the doors soon."

Slade laughed, making Laurel sigh and say, "I was gonna watch that video set beforehand, but I haven't been able to, what with someone here knocking a candle onto their bed and accidentally setting it on fire."

"I apologized for that like, a million times!" Rebecca protested.

"Anyway," Malcolm said, as he had obviously heard this before. "I think it'll be better seeing it with everyone here."

"I'm worried now."

Slade and Malcolm were just laughing, ignoring him.

"It was a sticky hinge," she lied to Sam, holding the door open and walking inside. She looked around, then smiled. "Eliza used to bring me to a place like this."

"Who's Eliza?" Sam frowned.

"My adoptive mom," Kara explained. "Every Tuesday and Thursday."

"You're adopted?" Sam's eyes lit up. "So am I!"

"Really?" Kara asked in delight.

"Except for my place was Mondays and Wednesdays," Sam chuckled. "Gosh, we really loved swimming. Every kid loves swimming."

"Not me and Thea," Oliver said.

Kara paused, then lowered her glasses slightly, looking over the top. She took in the overload of molecules in the pool, then nodded. "I'm gonna test the pool," she said.

"You're gonna test it?" Sam frowned as Kara crouched by the pool.

"I have a friend at the FBI who helps me on stories," Kara lied, reaching over to the pool, dipping one of Winn's devices into the water. "Tests stuff, lab work."

"That's a good friend to have," Sam nodded.

Kara dialed a number on her phone and lifted it to her ear. "Winn?" she said.

"Yo!" Winn answered. "What is going on?"

"I'm gonna send you a water sample from a public pool."

"Really?" Winn asked in delight as Kara plugged the device into her phone. "You know what, when I made that device, J'onn tried to tell me that no one was ever gonna use it, and I said to him, I said 'J'onn, one day, someone's gonna need to take a sample on the go.' Here we – oh, we got it."

"I told you," Winn said.

"Is it lead?" Kara asked, standing back up.

"Oh, my God!"

"What?"

"Um, this is an advanced hydromorphic carbon nitrate compound."

"What?"

"When mixed with water it becomes similar to lead," Rebecca said, making people look at her. "What? I know stuff."

"What does that mean?" she asked impatiently, seeing Sam bouncing on her heels.

"It's a synthetic compound that, when combined with water, exhibits the exact same properties as, you guessed it, lead, and if someone's exposed to it, the exact same symptoms as lead poisoning."

"So it wasn't the lead bomb?" Kara clarified, and Sam's eyes lit up.

"No," Winn confirmed. "No, it wasn't."

Kara let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank you," she told Winn gratefully, hanging up. "It wasn't Lena," she told Sam. "Someone put a dangerous chemical compound in the pool."

"How?" Sam asked.

Kara shrugged helplessly. "I – " She stopped, taking a look across the pool, then frowned. "Come with me."

She and Sam walked over to the supply closet, opening the doors, and both of them stared at the dozens of lidded buckets, all of them from the same company.

Lena Luthor

Lena stirred awake when her phone rang, and she frowned, reaching over to answer it. "Hello?" she asked glumly.

"Lena?" Kara's voice answered. "Sam and I are at this pool, and all the kids who got sick have been here."

"I thought I told you to stop," Lena groaned.

"It wasn't you!"

That made Lena sober up and sit up straight. "What?" she asked in shock.

"There's a synthetic chemical, when it touches water, it becomes toxic to the body. It mimics the same symptoms as lead poisoning."

"Well, how did it get in the swimming pool?" Lena demanded.

"It's in the chlorine containers," Kara answered. "They've been using it instead of chlorine. Sam and I are gonna try to track down the manufacturer – Acre Lee Chemical."

"Oh HELL no!!" Lena said in anger.

"What? What's wrong?"

"You'll see."

Lena blinked. "Acre Lee Chemical?" she repeated.

"Yeah. You know it?"

"No," Lena shook her head slowly. "No," she repeated, this time stronger. "Thank you, both of you." She hung up the phone, narrowing her eyes.

Oh, yes, she did know that name.

Morgan Edge

Edge was just starting to pack up when he heard his door open. He tilted his head, looking up when Lena entered. "Lena," he greeted. "You look horrible. Those sick kids really got you tied up in a knot, huh?"

"Acre Lee," Lena said.

"Acre what?" he frowned, standing up. "Acre Lee . . . Acre Lee, that's where the coyote gets all the stuff that he's gonna use to kill the roadrunner from, right?"

"It's a company you own," Lena answered.

There was outrage as everyone started yelling.

"Oh, I wish I was there to take him down," Deathstroke said, making Slade nod.

"I remembered it from due diligence before I invested in your buildings. Established in 1982, manufactures hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide . . . and also simple chlorine used for swimming pools. Acquired by Edge Global seven years ago."

"I'd have to check my records, you know," Edge brushed it off.

"You used it to poison kids in swimming pools in order to drag my name through the mud," Lena accused.

"Monster."

Edge stared at her, then laughed, walking closer to her. "Come on. That's it? That's what you're bringing? That's what you got? I say you did it, you say I did it? I expected better out of you." He stopped when Lena drew a gun and pointed it right at his face.

"Damn girl!"

"You're like... a million times cooler now."

"Now that's a disappointment."

"When that mom shot at me, I knew she was doing the right thing," Lena said softly. "Because whoever was responsible for this, they deserve to die. No trial, no jury. Just erased from the world."

"You need help, Lena," Edge shook his head. "Because you're not thinking clearly."

"I'm thinking like a Luthor," she said coldly, raising her gun and taking the safety off.

"Shoot him, shoot him."

Before she could fire, she was hit in the back of the head by one of Edge's men, and he sighed as Lena collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

Lena Luthor

Lena woke with a gasp, finding herself strapped down. When she looked around, she saw she definitely wasn't in Edge Global anymore. "Hello?" she called, unbuckling her restraints. "Hello?"

She stood up, looking around, then saw a small bit of light coming through a porthole nearby. She ran over and looked outside, blanching when she saw she was in a plane flying high above National City.

"Uh oh."

She turned back around, seeing the light flash across yellow barrels by the ramp. She walked over to get a closer look, only to freeze when she saw the logo on the barrels: Acre Lee Chemical.

She turned tail and headed for the other end of the plane, climbing up a ladder to the cockpit . . . the empty cockpit, as a matter of fact.

Morgan Edge

"That's right, Lena," Edge chuckled, watching Lena from the camera installed in the cockpit. "Who the heck is flying this plane?" He turned to the man controlling the plane. "We never turned the 'fasten seat belts' sign off, did we?" The man smirked. "Give her a little turbulence."

"Yes, sir," he nodded.

Lena Luthor

Lena crashed into the pilot's chair when the plane rocked, then grabbed the headset above the seat. "Mayday, mayday, this is Lena Luthor," she said fearfully, looking around.

Morgan Edge

"Jam the transmission," Edge ordered.

Lena Luthor

"I'm in a cargo plane headed directly to the reservoir," Lena continued, biting her lip when she heard static over the headset. "They're gonna dump chemicals in the water!"

J'onn J'onzz

J'onn was speaking with Winn and Felicity, the others lingering nearby, when one of the agents hurried up. "Sir, receiving word that there's an unidentified aircraft in our airspace," he reported.

"Alien?" J'onn asked, catching everyone's attention.

"No, it's a C-130 cargo plane," the agent answered. "Not on the FAA fly list."

"Did you contact the Air Force?"

"Not yet, sir, but we have a message fragment. Distress call."

"What distress call?" Kara asked as she ran down the steps.

"I'm pulling it up," the agent answered.

Through static, some words came through. "Mayday, mayday, this is – "

"Oh, my God," Felicity's eyes widened.

"That's Lena!" Dinah breathed in horror.

Kara immediately tossed her glasses to the side, Oliver snatching them as she took off at once, the rest of them looking around at each other, hoping Lena was going to be OK.

"You are the best friend ever," Lena said to Kara, who smiled.