As they two women got out of Cat's car in front of CatCo Plaza, Kara's phone rang.

"Kara Danvers, can I help you?"

Pause.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" Kara's tone was that of someone taken slightly by surprise.

A short pause.

"Yes, I can do that. No, that's not good. A better place might be Benetto's on Smythe Street."

Cat knew the restaurant. It was an upscale millennial hangout situated across the street from Noonan's. It was a little too noisy for her, but the food was great and the service was good.

A shorter pause.

"Five-fifteen works. I'll see you there."

"A new client, Kara?" Cat wondered.

"Nope. Just an acquaintance who wants to talk to me about something."

They continued to walk into the building and were soon getting out on the executive floor.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Cat's eye, as always, went first to the breaking news screen.

Only to see Supergirl pick up a car and throw it away.

00000000000000

Kara's eyes had followed her own with the ease of long practice. Cat heard the girl gasp, and she turned to her.

"Quick quiz, reporter Danvers. What's your headline for that: 'Supergirl Gone Rogue', 'Supergirl Gone Wild,' 'Supergirl, Supermenace?'"

Kara muttered, "Maybe it's not Supergirl."

"That's interesting, say more," Cat invited.

"Maybe it's an impostor, pretending to be Supergirl."

"Go on."

"I don't know. Maybe it's someone trying to discredit her."

"I like that angle. It gives our girl the benefit of the doubt. It shows that we're choosing not to believe the worst in people. Yes, I can see the headline clearly now. The word 'Supergirl' with a question mark as in 'Supergirl?' I'd better call in the city reporters and get the stories written."

"And I'd better go see Mr. Olsen and get him to send a message to Supergirl asking or an interview."

"Good idea, Kara," Miss Grant replied. "Off you go, chop-chop." But Kara didn't move immediately.

Her mentor looked at her, "Yes, Kara?"

"You said you had something for me?"

"Right. Thank you, I must have left it on my desk."

The two women walked into Cat's office and Cat picked up a keycard and handed it to Kara.

"All our regular reporters have keycards and since your particular subject doesn't work banker's hours you shouldn't have to make special arrangements to get in here if Supergirl does something special in the middle of the night."

"Thank you, Miss Grant. I'll let you know as soon as I've talked to Supergirl."

And Kara quickly left the office.

OOOOOO

A quick flight to the DEO and Supergirl found Hank Henshaw and her sister reviewing the footage of the fake Supergirl.

"Not one of your greatest hits," Hank remarked.

"But who is she? It's certain it's not me. I was with Cat Grant in the CatCo newsroom where she threw the car away. Could it be that girl in room 52 of Lord Technologies?"

"Unlikely," Hank replied. "That girl was comatose, her cerebral cortex functioning was almost nonexistent. Bringing her back to even partial consciousness would be like raising the dead."

"Are you sure?" Supergirl asked.

"Maxell Lord does have a god complex, but he's not an actual god." Hank turned away.

Alex was practical, as usual, "In that case, we'll just have to monitor the city with a couple of patrol teams and let you know where she turns up again."

"Thanks." Supergirl turned and left without another word.

OOOOOOOOO

It was four-fifteen when the phone rang on Cat Grant's desk.

"Hello, Miss Grant. Supergirl came by my apartment and gave me a short statement. She denies that the person we saw wearing her outfit was her and she says she'll be watching for any other activities of this person. I'll email you her exact words in a moment."

"Thank you, Kara. Quick work."

OOOOOOOOO

It was five-ten when Kara walked into Benetto's, but to her surprise, Adam Foster was waiting at the bar with a beer in front of him.

"Hi, Adam. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Kara. Thanks for coming."

"You're welcome. You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes."

The bartender was there. Kara ordered a glass of a nice red.

"This is a nice place." Adam commented, "But you said Mario Batali's new place wouldn't be good. How did you know that?"

"Who do you think made all your Mom's dinner reservations?" Kara teased. "I just had a feeling that that place wouldn't be your style. Our style."

Adam shook his head, "You're amazing."

Kara lowered her head and sipped her wine. "No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are," Adam replied. And as Kara shook her head, he continued. "Yeah. Not just anybody would have sent me that letter."

Kara frowned. "Sure they would."

Adam was having none of it. "Nah, no, most people wouldn't have cared. And then, when I turn up, after Mom forces you to resign, you don't just stand aside as almost anybody else in your position would do, you actively persuade her to meet with me, then, after our first meeting doesn't go well, you step in again, meet me at my hotel and persuade me to meet with Mom when I'm about to blow this town. No, Kara, You're different. And that's without mentioning how you found the hacker. Mom says that if you hadn't had the idea to check that bastard out, your colleagues wouldn't have found the evidence that saved her job."

"I can't really take much credit for that. It was something your Mom said that gave me the idea."

"Not your ability to lip read?"

Kara raised an eyebrow, "You and your Mom must have had an interesting conversation. But the fact is, if she hadn't said what she said, I wouldn't have looked at Mr. Armstrong when I did."

"But the fact is you did it. You saved Mom's job and you brought us together. I don't know how I can thank you."

"Your Mom is a great person and a great journalist; you're not so bad yourself. I'm happy I was able to help you both. You don't have to do anything special to thank me."

"No, but Kara, if I can ever help you in any way, you have only to ask."

"I doubt if I'll ever be in Opal City, Adam, but thanks for the offer."

"Actually, I'm going to be relocating here. The other reason I came to National City this week was that I had a job interview with a local engineering firm as an engineer in training. This morning I heard the news: I got the job. But I really wanted to talk with you about something else."

"What's that?"

"Kara, you see people, you understand them and you help them. It makes me wish that I could . . . no."

"Makes you wish what?"

No reply.

"Come on, tell me," Kara cajoled.

Adam sighed. "It makes me wish that I could . . . get the chance to do that for you."

For a moment Kara's face worked, then she looked away.

After a few seconds, Adam asked, "Was that too much?"

"No," Kara replied, "No, I think . . . that would be really nice."

Adam Foster took a deep breath and seized the opportunity he never thought he'd get.

"Then, if I may step into something that you may think is none of my business, here we go. Mom told me that she offered you a job with her for life around the time of the hacking incident. And a couple of days later, you quit, because, according to Mom, she interfered in your private life. By the way, she calls that decision the worst mistake she's ever made in her professional life. That's one point in a very unusual data set."

"What do you mean?" Kara asked. Clearly, Adam Foster was sharper than she had thought.

"The second data point is this. It's obvious that you care for my Mom very much: I saw that instantly when I met you at Noonan's yesterday and at the hotel this morning. Third data point: the fact that you're not working for Mom is hurting both of you: I saw it in your eyes when you told me you had resigned, and I heard it in Mom's voice when she told me about this situation and told me not to get involved because I could make it worse"

"You are definitely as sharp as your Mom," Kara complained, lightly, but her eyes were watching him closely. "Working for her was a constant race to keep up."

"Kara, is there anything I can do to help resolve whatever your difficulties are with Mom?"

"No, Adam, but thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. I just can't work for her as her Personal Assistant anymore. I can work for CatCo in other positions and I'm doing that."

Suddenly, Kara heard a new note in the background TV announcer's voice.

"Now to a story we are covering live. The National Island tramway is dangling, leaving passengers stranded and in peril. NCPD and emergency rescue workers are en route, but eyewitness accounts suggest they may not get there in time."

Kara reached into her bag and came out with her cell phone. "Yes, Alex?" Her face tightened as she listened. Then she stood up. "Sorry, Adam, I have to go. A family matter."

"Where? I can drive you."

"Thanks, but it's not necessary." Kara's face relaxed and her fleeting smile was sincere and deep. "But thanks for offering to help. Good luck with your Mom and your new job."

"Can we get together for dinner tomorrow night?"

To her surprise, Kara found herself saying, "Sure."

"I'll call you tomorrow morning. Is Korean barbecue OK with you?"

"Yes, bye for now." And Kara walked out the door.

Adam Foster finished his beer and pulled out his phone.

"Hello, Mom, it looks like I can meet you for dinner after all if you're free."

"I probably won't be free for a couple of hours, but since you interned on the Gazette, how would you like to see how a good news organization covers a big breaking story?"

"The Gazette's a fairly good paper, Mom, but I wouldn't mind seeing how CatCo does things. I'll be there in five minutes."

"So close?" his mother asked.

"Yes, I'm at Benetto's."

"When you get here, use the private elevator. Check in with Security desk in the lobby; they'll be holding it for you."

"See you soon," Adam said and cut the connection.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Adam Foster arrived on the CatCo executive floor, he found his mother and a small group of staffers, some with tablets in hand, in his Mom's office. They watched a bank of TV screens behind the office desk that showed two Supergirls fighting on top of the damaged cable car. In a couple of shots, the cameraman was able to zoom in on both girls faces.

Cat Grant heard her son enter her office. Without turning her eyes from the screen for more than a second, she remarked. "Thank you for coming, Adam. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my eldest son, Adam Foster a former intern on the Opal City Gazette. Adam, from your left to right meet James Olsen, Art Director, Walt Cunningham, City Desk editor, Kelly Regan, my interim Personal Assistant, Loh Ken-Wa and Shirley Stevens, reporters and Winn Schott, computer expert and researcher. At present one of Mr. Olsen's photojournalists is on the scene and Mr. Loh is writing the play-by-play from what our cameraman is giving us while Ms. Stevens is writing the cable car failure story. But the big thing is that Kara's guess turned out to be right."

"Kara's guess?" Adam asked.

"Kara guessed that the Supergirl who threw the car off the bridge earlier today wasn't the real Supergirl."

Suddenly, everyone in the room gasped as the cable car gave way and fell. One of the Supergirls caught it, lowered it to the ground, while, for some reason, the other flew away. The Tribune cameraman made his way to the superhero as the passengers were coming out.

"Supergirl, Greg Clairbourne, National City Tribune. Who is that other Supergirl?"

"I have no idea yet, Mr. Clairbourne, but you can bet I'm going to find out."

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask this: you are the Supergirl that's been helping National City for the last few months, right?"

"Right. If you like, I'll fly you to CatCo headquarters where you can record me meeting with Cat Grant. She'll be able to confirm my last statement."

"That'll be great, Supergirl. Can you wait a few moments while I get a couple of passenger accounts?"

"No problem."

After the photojournalist had got the stories of three passengers, he turned to the Girl of Steel.

"Ready to go. How do we do this?"

"One arm behind your shoulders, the other under your knees. Lean back, and I've got you."

"Do you mind if I record the flight for our viewers?"

"Not at all." And with that, Supergirl took off.

Two minutes later, Supergirl and her passenger landed on Cat's office balcony.

"Good evening, Miss Grant, Mr. Olsen, Mr. Schott. I don't believe I know your colleagues."

Cat Grant took that. "Hello, Supergirl. To your right, the sandy blond in the green jacket with the nice smile is Adam Foster, a former intern on the Opal City Gazette and my eldest son. On Mr. Olsen's other side are Walt Cunningham, Tribune City Desk editor; Kelly Regan, my temporary Assistant; Loh Ken-Wa and Shirley Stevens, reporters. You said you could prove you are the real Supergirl?"

"One hundred percent genuine article. Unless you've told anybody else the site of our first meeting, I can do that right now."

"I haven't told anybody that, nor have I told anybody how I got there."

"The site was Logan Rock and you got there because I flew your car with you in it to the top of the rock."

"OK people, meet the real Supergirl. So what can you tell us about your doppelganger?"

"She looks like me: she has at least some of my powers, flight, and strength; but she talks like a four-year-old. It's weird."

"Is she another Kryptonian?"

"I don't know whether she is or not. On what I know now, I can't even guess."

"So Supergirl, how can we reassure our readers that you are the real Supergirl when they meet you or alert them to trouble when Bizarro turns up?"

"I think I sound reasonably intelligent, so until this is resolved, I'll make a point of talking to the people I meet so they will know that I'm the real Supergirl. If you could emphasize the fact that this other girl sounds like the cookie monster, that might be the easiest way to tell us apart."

"We will do that." Cat signaled the photojournalist who signed off and shut down his camera.

"So what do we call Supergirl's double, people?" Cat asked.

"Fake Supergirl?" Shirley Stevens wondered.

Cat shook her head.

"How about 'Doppleganger?'" James put in.

"No," Cat said, "we need something that people will understand without having to check a dictionary."

"What about Bizarro?"

Everyone looked at Adam Foster.

"That's exactly right, Adam. Thank you." his mother said. Turning to the others, she continued: "Mr. Olsen, you need to get Mr. Clairbourne's film on the web now. Mr. Clairbourne, you've got a second story to write. 'Flying With Supergirl'. Mr. Cunningham, you ride herd on Mr. Loh and Ms. Stevens: we need their stories online in fifteen minutes. Mr. Schott, do you have any friends who may know hackers in places like Anonymous or WikiLeaks who might be able to find out if the government has a project to duplicate Supergirl?"

"I can put the word out but I don't know what kind of results we'll get."

"Go to it, everyone."

With that, the staffers left.

Cat Grant broke the momentary silence.

"Thank you for stopping by, Supergirl."

"You're welcome. Good night, Miss Grant. Good night, Mr. Foster."

Supergirl turned and left.

"Well, Adam?"

"Well, what?"

"How did we do? Do we measure up to Gazette standards?"

"You did pretty much what the Gazette would have done although they're smaller. They'd only have one reporter covering both stories and the owner doubles as the city editor. But other than that, I didn't see too much of a difference. But I did notice something earlier when we saw the fight. Is it possible you can play back the recording?"

"Sure," his mother said. "Just let me call Mr. Olsen."

A few moments later, James Olsen returned to the office. "The recording is up on screen four, Miss Grant. What do you need?"

"Adam thinks he noticed something. What is it, Adam?"

"Can you fast forward to when the fight starts?"

"Miss Grant?"

"Use my computer."

James Olsen made the necessary mouse clicks, and the recording shot forward. When the second Supergirl appeared, he stopped the advance and restarted it at normal speed. When the cameraman moved to a closeup of the two Supergirls' faces as they grappled together just before the cable car fell, Adam said, "Stop."

"What is it, Adam?"

"The one on the left has a scar near her left eyebrow. The one on the right doesn't. Can we move ahead from here in slow motion?"

"Sure," James replied.

As the film spooled, Adam kept his eyes on the scarred Supergirl who turned out to be the one who brought the falling cable car safely to earth.

"I see what you mean. The one with the scar is the genuine Supergirl, but the one without the scar is the fake." James Olsen commented.

"Yes, I've noticed that scar too." Cat contributed. "But it comes and goes as her expression changes. So it's not a sure identifier. And if we publish it, who can say whether or not whoever produced this imposter can duplicate it? So we don't put it out there. Thanks for your help, Mr. Olsen."

As James left the office, Cat Grant commented: "That was a very sharp observation, Adam. And you've got a fine feeling for words. If you write as well as you see things, there's a job here as a cub reporter with your name on it."

"Well, that would have been tempting, but I start working as an Engineer in Training with Simons Engineering's National City office next week. I just found out today."

"Why, Adam, that's wonderful! Have you found an apartment yet?"

"That's what I'll be doing between now and Saturday."

Oh, before we go get dinner, what happened to your date with Kara?"

"How did you know about that?"

"I was having lunch with her when you called to set it up."

"Oh. Well, it wasn't really a date, just an after-work drink: I wanted to thank her for all that she's done for me, or rather, for you and me. I was going to ask her to have dinner with me, but she had to leave before I could do that."

"She had to leave?"

"Yes, she got a phone call from someone about a family emergency. But I did get her to agree to dinner tomorrow night."

"Probably her sister," Cat muttered absently. "Good luck with your apartment hunt. Do you need any help with moving expenses?"

"Not really. Simons pays very well, and in this situation, there's a relocation allowance. I don't have too much stuff anyway, so moving will be easy."

"Adam, if you won't let me help you with moving expenses, can I at least help you save some money on this trip's expenses?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's no need for you to stay at a hotel for the rest of the week when I have a perfectly serviceable guest suite. And if you are going to be living in National City, you should at least know where your mother lives."

Adam Foster thought for a moment.

"I'll take you up on that. What's the address?"

Cat told him. Then she said, "My car's downstairs. If we go to your hotel right now and get your stuff, we can go out for dinner and then go home."

"OK, Mom. That sounds good."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As they went down the elevator, neither mother nor son knew that their thoughts were running in parallel.

Adam Foster had deliberately not told his mother where he had seen a scar similar to Supergirl's a scant half hour before.

And Cat Grant had refrained from telling her son that she had frequently seen a similar scar. Even though she was almost certain she was wrong, the second Supergirl turning up had re-opened a possibility in her mind that had recently been labeled impossible. Now, once again, it was a possibility that could no longer be dismissed out of hand.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A relaxing dinner with his Mom and an energetic introduction to his stepbrother, Carter, that mostly involved bonding over video games propelled Adam Foster into a good night's sleep. Waking early the next morning he made a fast google search of National City's Korean barbecue restaurants and he quickly found a likely prospect. After confirming time and place with his date, he turned his attention to the real estate listings and spent most of the morning and early afternoon checking out potential apartments. By 4:15, he found the place he wanted and signed a year's lease. After a get acquainted walk around the neighborhood, he dropped into a barber shop for a trim. With that done, he headed for the restaurant.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kara Danvers couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed a meal so much. Adam was smart, funny, caring and they quickly fell into the rhythms of old friends as they chatted. When she looked at her watch, nearly three hours had gone by without her noticing.

"I'd better be going, Adam. I have an early start tomorrow. But it's been fun, every second of it."

"Can I take you home? My car's parked in the street on the other side of the park."

"Sure," Kara said.

As they entered the park, Adam continued the conversation: "We've talked a lot about what I've been doing and what you are doing for CatCo, but do you mind telling me something about how you got started with Mom?"

"I don't mind. I was lucky to get hired as your Mom's assistant. Working with her was really great for me. She was a really great mentor to me whether she knows it or not."

"How about your Mom?" Adam replied, "You guys close?"

"We were. She died. My Dad too."

"Oh my God, what happened?"

"There was an accident. I wasn't there."

Adam Foster looked at the girl beside him. She wasn't looking at him. "Kara, I'm so sorry."

"No, no, it happened a long time ago. I was adopted by this really wonderful family who are great to me. So everything had a happy ending." As she said it she looked down.

Adam Foster was no fool. And as someone who'd suffered in his own family life, he recognized instantly how deeply Kara was hurting.

"But?" he asked.

"Well. . . " Kara looked up again, "after that it's . . . it's . . . always been hard for me to feel normal, I guess. You know, like, where I'm supposed to be. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes," Adam replied, "but, Kara, I should tell you something." He moved in, gently kissed her hair and said, "No one ever feels normal."

Kara looked at him with her heart in her eyes, put her face up and they leaned in for another kiss. It lasted for a long time – until she was suddenly torn away by Bizarro.

"Kara!" yelled a stunned Adam Foster.

After a few seconds, his mind began to work and he ran for his car.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Once Bizarro had moved beyond Adam Foster's field of view, it was relatively simple for Kara, with her greater experience in both flying and fighting, to trigger her DEO emergency alarm and free herself from the other girl's grip. But as she got free, the other girl threw her to the ground. As she got up she barely had time to say, "You're making a mistake" before the other girl fired a freeze vision blast that Kara had to block. Then an exchange of punches sent Kara into the air. She quickly recovered and shot herself back at her adversary and knocked her spinning, to which the other replied by breathing fire at her. Defending with her freeze breath, Kara put out the fire and moved out of range as the other attacked. As her bizarre double flew at her yet again, Kara caught her wrists as the two DEO city patrol cars pulled up and a barrage of Kryptonite bullets quickly put the other girl on the ground.

A few seconds later, to their astonishment, the strange girl got up and her face visibly decayed as the DEO team watched in shock. With a yell of "Hate you!" she took off and disappeared and the presence of kryptonite in the many shell casings scattered on the ground made it impossible for Supergirl to follow.

Back at the DEO, Kara let Alex know that her doppelganger had targeted Kara Danvers and the corollary: that Max Lord now knew that Kara was Supergirl. Then the girls went to see Hank. After reporting that the mission to capture Bizarro had failed because the counterfeit's powers were mirror images of Supergirl's abilities, Hank set the DEO team to reverse engineer their synthetic Kryptonite to work on Bizarro.

But Kara knew that such a step would be ultimately useless unless Max Lord was taken out of play. As she left the DEO, she muttered, "It is time to stop him. Once and for all."

OOOOOOOOOOO

A few minutes later Kara Danvers walked into Cat Grant's office to find Cat and Adam walking in from the balcony and Adam saying "I should have done more. I mean, why take her and not me?"

"It was just dumb luck," Kara said, as both heads turned to her as if on strings and stared.

"Kara, what happened? We have been worried sick about you. I ordered an amber alert." her mentor scolded.

"I was lucky. Bizarro flew over an FBI tactical team on a training exercise. They had some special weapons. When they fired them, she was so surprised she dropped me and flew off. Luckily, I fell into a tree. But, Miss Grant, I think I need a private word with Adam."

Cat recognized what was about to happen. "Oh, well. I guess I'll go roam the hallways of my building."

Kara turned away from Adam.

"Adam."

He made it easy for her.

"Are you breaking up with me? Because we haven't even started dating yet."

"I hate to say this, but maybe the universe is sending us a message. Our first date got interrupted, and then I was kidnapped."

"I know what you've been through," Adam replied, "And I get it. But not everyone's going to leave you, not if you let them stick around."

"If I had been five minutes earlier or later at Noonan's that day, we wouldn't have even met, we wouldn't be here."

"So what I think was fate, you think was an accident?" Adam asked.

Suddenly Kara turned to look at him. Her face tightened and the small scar by her left eybrow reappeared. When she spoke, her voice was deeper, certain.

"If I've learned anything from the last few weeks," she said, "If I don't have room in my life for a great guy like you, maybe I don't have room for anyone. I don't know if that makes you feel any better."

"Not really," Adam replied. "I thought this wasn't going to work because of my baggage, my issues and I'd be the one to chicken out."

"I'm sorry." Kara sobbed.

"I know you are."

"I'm gonna go."

"No, I'm going to leave. Just hang on here for a second."

He walked a few steps away and turned.

"Goodbye, Kara."

"Bye, Adam."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In room 52, Max Lord looked away from his creation.

"Supergirl made you a monster."

He turned suddenly. "If I were you I'd be very angry about that. I'd want to take away anyone Supergirl loves."

He turned and left the room, leaving a disfigured Bizarro deep in thought. She knew who she would take away. Thanks to Supergirl's powers, she also knew how to find him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day was a dreary round of chores for Adam Foster. He opened a new bank account, arranged for a phone line at his new apartment and sent out several change-of-address forms. Mostly he replayed the conversation with Kara, wondering if he could have prevented what had happened by doing something differently. But, as always with such exercises, the result was nothing more than a case of the blues.

He had dinner with his mother that night and explained what had happened. Afterward, they walked back to CatCo so Cat could check in with the International Desk for developments on a late-breaking crisis in Beijing. While she was doing that Adam sat on the couch for a few moments, then, restless, moved to her balcony and looked out. A few moments after he did so he heard a swish and turned around.

Bizarro was standing on the other end of the balcony.

Adam had time to notice that her face was now something out of a horror show before she screamed, grabbed him, and flew off.

Behind him, Cat saw what had happened and placed a call to James Olsen.

"Miss Grant, what's up?"

"Jimmy, Bizarro just kidnapped my son Adam from my CatCo balcony. Call Supergirl at once."

"On it." Quickly James Olsen hung up, then called Kara and relayed Miss Grant's message.

And Supergirl was in the air less than two minutes after Bizarro had left the CatCo balcony.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kara Danvers had memorized Adam Foster's heartbeat almost unconsciously during their date. Now, Supergirl listened for it as she shot into the air. She picked it up within thirty seconds and she followed Bizarro. From a distance, she saw Adam taken to a warehouse on National City's outskirts. Using her X-ray vision she saw Bizzaro tie him up, but otherwise leave him alone. She called her sister at the DEO and asked whether the synthetic kryptonite had been reengineered. For once there was good news: the reengineered synthetic K was ready and Alex's team was rolling within seconds with an ETA of 20 minutes. As the team got closer, she and Alex worked out a plan. She would have to distract Bizarro while the DEO team arrived and set up, so she would go in when the team was two minutes out.

Supergirl hovered in the sky until they got there. When she saw the incoming SUV's she moved and fired her way through an open factory window, and landed behind Bizarro.

The doppelganger turned, saw her and roared, "I kill Supergirl." She opened with a flame breath blast that Supergirl countered with freeze breath. From there it went to an extended ballet of punching and short flights until Bizarro got her hands around Supergirl's throat.

For no reason that Adam could see, Supergirl rotated so that she was between him and Bizarro. A shot rang out and Bizarro let go and fell to the floor. Several armed men and women all dressed in black suddenly appeared.

Supergirl dropped to the floor with her eyes fixed on her unconscious double. "Alex, you free Mr. Foster and get him back downtown. I'll take our friend here to the hospital."

"OK, Supergirl," a slim chestnut haired woman said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Supergirl picked up her double.

Adam Foster called, "Supergirl."

Without turning, the Girl of Steel said, "Yes."

"Thanks for distracting Bizarro, but how did you find me?"

"Keep it to yourself, Mr. Foster, but I hear heartbeats. I'd heard Bizarro's heartbeat before, so I knew what to listen for."

"Nice. I'll keep my mouth shut. Thanks again."

Supergirl nodded and took off as the woman named Alex came over to Adam and cut him free.

"Thank you," he said. "Who are you?"

"Alexandra Danvers, FBI," the woman, said showing her credential. "Your mother saw what happened. She has a way to reach Supergirl, who in turn knows how to reach us. We were rolling in under five minutes from the time you were taken."

"But why the FBI?"

"Kidnapping is a federal crime. Where can I take you?"

"CatCo Plaza," Adam replied.

"We'll take your statement on the way. Please come with me, Mr. Foster."

"If you don't mind me being rude as we walk, I need to call my Mom."

"Go ahead."

Adam made the call.

"Adam, thank God you're safe."

He explained what had happened. "Don't forget to thank Supergirl and the FBI too."

"No, Adam, I won't forget to do that. Where are you now?"

"Getting into an FBI SUV with the tactical team. They'll drop me at CatCo Plaza. I'll be there in around . . . " he raised an eyebrow, as the SUV pulled out of the plant lot onto the street.

"Twenty minutes." Agent Danvers replied.

"Around twenty minutes, Agent Danvers says."

"Agent Danvers? May I speak to her please?"

Adam put his hand over the phone and turned to Alex in the next seat. "My Mom wants to talk to you."

Alex took the phone.

"Danvers."

"Agent Danvers, are you the agent in charge on your team?"

"Yes."

"I'm very grateful to you. Please pass on my thanks to the rest of your team. Also, when you get to CatCo, please drop Adam off at the parking garage elevators. I'll be there to meet him."

"I'll do that."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The moment Adam Foster left the SUV, his mother had one of her security people stand at each end of the SUV while she hugged her son.

"Which of you people is Agent Danvers?" she asked.

"I am," Alex replied.

Cat Grant cocked her head as she recognized a familiar face. "Well, well, well, Agent Scully, we meet again. You and I had better have a talk. If I publish what I know about tonight's events without talking to you, I'll probably upset a lot of applecarts. And I suspect that it would not be wise to do that. Unless I have to."

Alex Danvers recognized the inevitable, nodded and got out, "Stimson, back to headquarters. Tell the boss, I'll be there as fast as I can." The SUV pulled away, and Cat said. "Let's go to my office."

When they arrived, Cat gestured for Alex and Adam to take seats. She herself sat next to Adam. She began with an innocuous question.

"My former assistant, Kara Danvers, told me once she has a sister named Alex. Is that you?"

"Yes. What do you know that you think could upset applecarts?"

"For one thing, Bizarro only turned up two days ago and you have something that can knock her out already? Can whatever you have also knock out Supergirl?"

"Deep background conversation?" Alex queried.

"Yes," Cat nodded.

It hasn't been tried on her yet, but for various reasons, I doubt it will work."

"Are you some kind of biological expert?"

"I have a double Ph.D. in biochemistry and biomedical engineering. And while I didn't get the idea for this tool, I did engineer it."

"What's a double Ph.D. in biochemistry and biomedical engineering doing running around as an FBI agent?"

"I was recruited in college by an insider at a time when law enforcement seemed romantic."

"And the National City FBI Office says you're not one of them, but they know of you. And they're scared of you. Or maybe they're scared that I found out about you. Which is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know John Boyce?"

"The Special Agent in Charge of the National City office?" Alex replied.

Cat nodded.

"We've met."

"After we talked, I called John to congratulate him and commend you. He dropped the phone when I mentioned your name. When he picked it up, he said that you were assigned to a special team that wasn't under his authority and he didn't know any more to tell me. John and I were good friends in Metropolis years ago. He's as courageous as any man alive, but I know what his voice sounds like when he feels put on the spot. But getting back to a previous point, this Bizarro knock out drug? Was it a knock off of something you have that can knock out Supergirl? No, don't answer that Agent Danvers. And finally, Supergirl didn't take Bizarro to any hospital in National City. Where did she go? You see why I think I could upset some applecarts?"

"Adam, you're here! James told me you were kidnapped by Bizarro. What happened? Alex, what are you doing here?"

A voice from the newsroom turned their heads.

Kara Danvers was walking into Cat's office, trailed by James Olsen.

Everyone stared at her.

"I asked James to drive me in when he called me with the news."

Adam replied to Kara's questions. "Bizarro kidnapped me and your sister's FBI team, working with Supergirl, rescued me. Supergirl took Bizarro to a secret hospital somewhere. Your sister's here because my Mom wanted to talk to her."

Alex stood and turned to Cat Grant. "I'll give you this much. For now, you can publish your son's first two sentences and the details of the rescue which you can get from him. Publishing any more than that, does, as you noted, risk turning over some big applecarts, including jeopardizing successful prosecutions of at least two kidnapping cases. And not only will I let you know when you can publish more, I'll give Kara whatever can be published immediately within the next three hours."

"Can I have your number, Agent Danvers?"

"The National City FBI office can forward your calls. Come on, Kara, let's get you home."

"Do you want me to write this story, Miss Grant? After all, Supergirl is my beat."

"You are correct, Kara. Unless Adam wants the byline, this story is yours to write."

"I'm fine with telling my story to Kara," Adam put in.

"You can use the balcony," Cat said.

"Then I'll say goodnight, Kara."

"Night, Alex."

And Adam and Kara walked out on the balcony.

You've got twenty-five minutes," Cat Grant said as they sat down.

OOOOOOOOOO

Twenty minutes later, Kara emailed her story. Cat had asked James Olsen to wait to edit it.

A few moments later, James said, "Good story, Kara. I just changed a sentence or two to make them clearer."

"I'll doublecheck," said Cat as she reached for James's tablet.

A minute later, Cat nodded.

"James put this up on the website right now. Thank you, Kara. Good job."

James Olsen rose to his feet as Kara said, "James, can you ask Supergirl to drop by my place? I'll try to get some quotes from her for the afternoon edition."

"Sure thing, Kara," James replied without stopping as he left.

"Good night, James, Miss Grant. Good night Adam."

"Good night, Kara," the two Grants chorused.

A few moments later, as James came back into the office, Adam turned to his mother.

"Mom, I need a private meeting with Supergirl, as fast as possible. How do you set one up?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Midnight found Adam Foster waiting patiently on the CatCo roof until a voice came out of the darkness.

"Mr. Foster? My cousin tells me you have something I need to hear that isn't just a thank you."

Supergirl was hovering about fifteen feet up and twenty feet away. Her voice was pleasant but cool.

"Well there are a couple of thank you's that I do need to mention, but that's not the main reason why I asked for this meeting. That has to do with some things that happened two nights ago, yesterday and earlier this evening. By the way, I don't want to be discourteous; you're welcome to come down to the roof. I'm afraid I'll get a headache if I have to look up at you for any length of time."

Supergirl touched down.

"Thank you. And thank you for coming." Adam said.

"You're welcome."

"What can you tell me about that poor girl who tried to kidnap me? She's clearly not fit to stand trial, even if she could be restrained."

"Your mother said you've worked on a newspaper, Mr. Foster. Do you know the term deep background?"

"Yes. I'll keep this conversation absolutely to myself."

"OK, then, just between us, there are ways of restraining people with my powers, but you're right: that girl is not mentally competent to stand trial. She's now under guard in a special government facility. Unlike me, she's human, not Kryptonian. She was kidnapped and experimented on by some genius who figured out a way to give her my powers. They doctors at the hospital are hoping to be able to figure out how it was done and take away her powers. But until they succeed, and even if they do succeed, she'll need specialized institutional care for the rest of her life. And she'll get it."

"Thanks for letting me know. I was worried. And we might as well get the rest of the thank you's out of the way at this point too. So thanks for rescuing me, Supergirl, and let me also say thank you for saving my Mom's life when Livewire attacked. I owe you, no, we owe you, a very great deal. If I can ever do anything to help you, you have only to ask."

"You're welcome. Your message said there are some things I need to know."

"Yes, it did," Adam Foster paused, "And you'll want to be certain that this does not get overheard by anybody. Is there any possible way we could be heard, standing here?"

Supergirl looked around. "With the elevator housing between us and the Bank of America Tower, there's no building with a direct line of sight to us and I don't see anybody with a directional mike pointed our way. There are no drones in the sky, you don't have a bug on you and I don't either. So I think we're good, but to make doubly sure we can't be heard . . ."

The Girl of Steel came to Adam Foster's side.

" . . . you can murmur into my ear if you like."

Adam followed her suggestion. "What I need to tell you is two things. The first one is this: you've got a scar on your forehead near your left eyebrow. It comes and it goes. Two nights ago, when we saw the film of your cable car rescue we were able to distinguish the real Supergirl from the fake because of that scar. And I've also seen somebody else with that scar recently. Specifically, last night, when that somebody broke up with me. And now, I know the reasons why she did it."

He felt Supergirl stiffen by his side.

"Reasons?"

"Yes, reasons. She was trying to keep me safe and her night job to herself. And while we were flying to the warehouse tonight, I asked Bizarro why she had kidnapped me. Her reply was three words: 'You date Supergirl.' So unless you've ever been to Opal City incognito as a brunette . . ."

"I haven't," s shaken Supergirl replied.

"Don't worry," Adam continued, "I meant what I said about owing you. And I know one way I can make a down payment on my various debts. So you don't have to say anything more."

"Thank you, Mr. Foster. But may I tell you a story?"

"Sure, and it's Adam."

"Please be Mr. Foster to me. Being Supergirl's friend is a luxury you might not be able to afford."

"That's a little strong, isn't it?"

"Let me tell you my story and you can decide for yourself. I was thirteen years old when my parents sent me away from Krypton. They also sent my cousin in a separate spacecraft which was launched first and came directly to earth. Mine, launched five minutes later, was caught in the blast wave when Krypton exploded. The blast sent my ship off course and me into suspended animation. That lasted about 25 years until something reactivated my ship and sent it to earth. But in the meantime, my cousin, who you know as Superman, had arrived and grown up here. When I arrived, he spotted my ship as it hit the atmosphere, met me, and arranged for me to be fostered by an American family who gave me as normal a life as possible, away from the spotlight. And in the years since I arrived, only seven people in all the world have been told what you know about me."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's the necessary background to what I'll tell you now. Knowing Supergirl's earth identity is a very dangerous bit of knowledge for those that have it. Having that bit of knowledge is what led directly to the death of one of those seven people. So be very careful, Mr. Foster. Not everybody on this planet likes me. Some criminals will attack me because they hate me because I stopped them, like Livewire. They'll also attack people close to me to hurt me. Did you read about Reactron attacking me?"

Adam nodded.

"The reason he did that was because he wanted to hurt Superman. I also have to deal with otherwise decent people who attack me because they fear me. Included in that number is the man behind Bizarro. It's why he told Bizarro to kidnap you. You see, he found out who I am, too."

Adam Foster looked at her. His face was set. "Well, I have a bone to pick with that guy. Kidnapping my date, or me either, for that matter, is not on the free list. Who is he, and what can I do to help put him in jail?"

"I can't think of anything you can do to help. It's not your fight."

"You're wrong."

For the second time, Adam Foster sounded like his mother.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think I can walk away from this safely, just like that? If Bizarro targeted me on orders from the guy behind her, I'm in this whether you like it or not. He might try targeting me again to get to you."

Supergirl blinked. Adam Foster's casual style kept leading her to underestimate him. "You're right. Anything else?"

"I've got a couple more questions. First, is my Mom among those seven people you mentioned?"

"No."

"Did she guess? Is that why Kara quit?"

"Not exactly. Your Mom thought Ms. Danvers was me, yes, but I was able to prove to her that she was wrong."

"How did you do that?"

"It's not entirely my story to tell, but I had some effective help. But to make sure Miss Grant didn't make that same mistake again, Ms. Danvers needed to move to a job that was largely out of her sight. As for why your Mom wasn't told about me, the short answer is this: your stepbrother needs his mother. So there's no way I'm taking any avoidable risk that he might lose her. Which means there's no way I'll risk your Mom finding out my earthly identity if I can possibly help it."

"I get it," a thoughtful Adam replied.

"And your other question?"

"What about Kara Danvers?"

"What about her?"

"I got to know Kara a little bit before I found out about her night job. And while you may be the Girl of Steel, it's easy to see that Kara Danvers has the heart of a child."

Supergirl froze, stunned. "What makes you say that?"

"'Heart speaks to heart.' I know what it's like to go through a major family disaster. I've heard Kara talk and I've seen Kara's face when she talks about her painful memories. And because I have some empathy, I've felt something of what she feels. And the stress from her night job must be very hard to take. I wonder how much longer she can do it alone without breaking down. I think Kara needs, and I quote her, 'a great guy:' someone who cares for her, who knows her secret and will back her every inch of the way. Thanks to the workings of the universe, I have all those qualifications. Maybe the universe is sending us a message. But even if Kara says no, I'll still keep my mouth shut."

"Kara will have to think about that very carefully," Supergirl replied. "For one thing, it would carry an avoidable risk of your Mom finding out."

"I understand. Mind you, we may not be together long enough for that risk to be significant."

"That's true enough. But you don't think it's likely, do you?"

"I hope Kara and I stay together long enough to have to face that problem, yes. And I think there's a good chance we will. And I think we can solve it. If we give ourselves a chance. But that's a long-term issue. The short-term question I have is more important."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Now that Bizarro is out of the picture, can I take Kara out for dinner tomorrow night?"

Supergirl smiled. "You have all your mother's chutzpah."

"That's what Dad tells me. Often," he grinned.

"He's right."

"You didn't answer my question," Adam pressed.

Supergirl looked at him, saw the kindness and care in his eyes and her decision made itself.

"You'd better ask Kara that question. But I wouldn't be surprised if she says yes."

"I'll call her tomorrow morning."

"I think she'd like that. Good night, Adam."

"Don't you think I'd better be Mr. Foster when you're Supergirl and vice versa? It might help keep us on track in the long run."

Supergirl thought back over the last few minutes and how Adam had followed her lead in distinguishing between her two personas. Once again, his thoughtfulness and care made an impact. "That's a good thought, Mr. Foster. I won't say good night because I suspect that Kara Danvers is still up. If you call her in five minutes or so, you can ask her about tomorrow yourself."

"Good advice. Thanks. Bye for now."

"Goodbye."

And suddenly Adam Foster was the only one on the CatCo roof.