“How about that plan?” she asked, rubbing her palms together.
Kara could hear Mon-El calling her name, but she could also feel tears building in her eyes.
“Just give me a couple minutes, OK?” she said, taking off her glasses.
A burst of air hit her, and Mon-El was by her side.
“Crap, I forgot you could move so fast.” She wiped at her eyes and pasted on a smile. “What’s up?”
“Don’t give me that.” Mon-El took her hand. “Something’s going on, and it’s not just about you and me. What is it?”
Kara pocketed her glasses and glanced at the fading red mark on her hand —the hand that had absorbed the orichalcum. “I can speak Atlantean.” She looked up at Mon-El. “I can read Japanese. I can hear the truth in people’s words, even if they say something different.”
Mon-El’s forehead wrinkled. “Yeah, and that’s been really helpful.”
Kara exhaled sharply and leaned back against the wall. “But it hasn’t. Pryll’s upset even though I told him we’ll find his treasure, the supercitizens hate Supergirl, my boss doesn’t appreciate me, I couldn’t get through to the security guard before the museum heist, I made Alex feel bad after the museum heist, I bullied two people at the mayor’s office, and you and I started fighting about the orichalcum antidote.” She paused for a breath. “I even accused you of making it about yourself when you weren’t!”
Mon-El gave her a sympathetic smile. “Kara, we’re going to argue. It’s part of being a couple.” He squinted. “I think. This is all new territory.”
She rubbed her hand. “I thought this new power would help me communicate better, but everything still goes wrong.” She shook her head. “I am really bad at understanding people.”
“No.” Mon-El gripped her shoulders. “Kara Zor-El, you are one of the most understanding creatures I know.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Then why am I having so much trouble getting through to people?”
He shrugged. “Maybe you’re not giving them what they want.”
Kara’s forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s say I ask you for . . . ice cream,” said Mon-El. “You understand that I want ice cream, but instead of bringing me mint chocolate chip, which is my favorite, you bring me Rocky Road, which is yours.”
“But you never told me what you wanted,” she argued. Then a thought struck her. “And I never asked. I chose for you.” Kara bumped her head against the wall. “That’s what I’ve been doing, isn’t it? I’m giving people what I think they should have.”
“It kinda sounds like it. Your ideas are here, and theirs are here.” Mon-El held his hands a few inches apart. “As soon as you figure out what they really want . . .” He brought his hands together.
Kara nodded. It made perfect sense. She’d convinced Dr. Wanabi to create the antidote because he wanted to save lives. And she’d gotten through to the information clerk because Ms. Binder wanted to be noticed at work, just like Kara did.
Mon-El tugged Kara to a standing position and wrapped his arms around her. “You are more than just your powers, Kara. You have a kind heart and a determined spirit and a clever mind. Even if you were human, you would still be a super girl.”
Kara rolled her eyes but smiled. “You know, you can be pretty smart sometimes.”
“So can you,” he said. “That hotline idea was pretty clever.”
“Oh yeah!” Kara backed away. “I forgot to ask. How’s it working out?”
Mon-El made a face. “There are a lot of supercitizens who want to help, but none who can give us any leads. Luckily, we found the bad guys on our own.”
Kara’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? Let’s go!”
She grabbed his hand, but he didn’t move.
“J’onn wants us to have a plan first.”
Kara scoffed. “A plan?” She paused. “Oh, wait. No, that’s a good idea. Do we know what we’re up against?”
Footsteps padded around the corner, and a moment later Alex appeared. “We’ll find out soon enough. How do you feel about a recon mission after dark?”
“Perfect! That’ll give me just enough time to write my superdrug article.” Kara entwined her arms around one of Alex’s and gave her sister an adoring look. “If you can call Maggie and ask her to be my credible NCPD source?”
Alex took her phone out of her pocket. “I’m going to have to take her to Italy for tiramisu,” she muttered, dialing Maggie’s number.
Kara smiled and kissed Alex’s cheek and then Mon-El’s. “Thank you! Let me know when Maggie gets here.”
“What? Where are you going?” asked Mon-El.
“To talk to Winn and then Pryll,” she said with a firm nod. “It’s time I give him what he wants.”
14
“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.”
“Y
ep!” 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.
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