The Children of Liberty’s Thanksgiving alien rampage was thwarted, but Supergirl’s issues with the radical humanist group are only just beginning. Ben’s followers won’t stop until the “alien menace” is effectively curtailed. However, Kara, along with Manchester Black, J’onn and the DEO, aren’t backing down. Exposing Ben is the end goal, but the means of accomplishing that differs greatly among the allied forces.
Reputation Isn’t Everything
James’ attempts to get close to Agent Liberty results in him being taken prisoner by the Children of Liberty. He is brought to Agent Liberty, who wants him to destroy a monument to alien-human relations. James refuses and is left locked in a storage room. Tom visits James, apologizing for getting him involved. He brings James his Guardian tech and boosts him from his cell. The two exit the building, only to find that they are on Shelley Island, National City’s Ellis Island allegory for alien immigration. The two are caught on the dock. Tom offers to sacrifice himself so James can escape, but James refuses to let Tom die for him, forcing them both to surrender.
Tom regrets joining Agent Liberty’s coalition, but doesn’t understand why James didn’t leave when he had the chance. Guardian’s association with the Children of Light gives them legitimacy, but James wasn’t going to allow Tom to die because he is better than Agent Liberty. He might destroy James’s reputation, but he won’t tear down who he knows himself to be. James knows he can rebuild anything that is destroyed, whether it be his public perception or the monument he is forced to destroy.
Scientific Progress
Lena begins human testing of her experimental super serum, but remains apprehensive about the process. She doesn’t want to know any details about her subject, remaining distant both before and after she meets him. The subject asks Lena to not sugarcoat things regarding the experiment, but Lena isn’t ready to discuss details. The two grow more chummy, leading Lena to reveal that the trial could give the subject super powers. He says that he isn’t a hero, which is exactly what Lena wants. She wants someone that can be responsible with what may come. The subject begins freaking out, blaming himself for his brother’s death and telling Lena choosing him was wrong. Lena disagrees.
Lena refers to him by name, Adam, and explains to him that his brother’s death wasn’t his fault and he isn’t a bad person. In proving so, Lena shares how she watched her birth mother drown when she was four years old. She did nothing. She simply watched from the shore as her mother slipped under the water, never to return. Lena deserves to be a Luthor in her mind. She decides to shut down the experiment, but Adam convinces her otherwise, pointing out that progress doesn’t come without significant risk. He believes Lena is a good person, just as she believes in him. The confidence pushes Lena to begin the experiment, injecting the serum into Adam. All seems well for a few minutes before Adam perishes. A distraught Lena records the results in an audio log while looking over the city.
Tag Team Turmoil
Supergirl and Manchester Black decide to team up to track down the Children of Liberty after seeing Ben demonize Supergirl on his television program. The two investigate an empty freight container. Supergirl discovers a discarded shipping label as Manchester Black beats up on the shipyard supervisor. Supergirl stops Black before declaring their alliance a mistake and leaving. A number of missing Children of Liberty members turn up dead, although they show no signs of being attacked by aliens. Supergirl suspects Black is to blame and consults J’onn. He convinces her to give Black a second chance, allowing the team to reunite. That happens just in time as Brainy reveals that the container held Nalcian salt, an extremely volatile alien compound that packs the punch of a small nuclear explosion in small amounts.
The two determine that the Children of Liberty’s base is on Shelley Island. Unfortunately, the island still has active power dampeners which will affect Supergirl. She luckily has a yellow sun grenade for such an occasion, and, after a quick examination of the weapon, the two set off. The grenade doesn’t work, forcing Black to reveal that he set up Supergirl in order to gain an audience with Agent Liberty. The Children of Liberty restrain National City’s protector as Black is led to the man upstairs.
Situation On Shelley Island
Ben watches his ultimate plan unfold via his laptop later that evening. James, dressed as Guardian, delivers a pro-humanist message on camera at gunpoint before arming an explosive device set to blow up a Shelley Island facility. Supergirl comes to in the building set to explode and climbs to a high window in an attempt to get James’s attention. The plan works as James sees the flashes of Supergirl’s depowered heat vision in the distance. He immediately attacks his captors with Tom’s aid. Manchester Black soon joins the fight after realizing he was brought to a bogus Agent Liberty. One of Ben’s followers is able to activate the bomb in the chaos. Black takes out the island’s power dampeners allowing Supergirl to escape as the building goes up in flames.
Afterwards, J’onn confronts Black about his actions. Black tells him he has no heart before forcing him to read his mind, sending his emotional pain coursing through the empath. Black plants an empathy amplifier on J’onn, strengthening the emotions and allowing him to get back on his way. James is frustrated that he almost allowed himself to be compromised and returns to patch things up with Lena, but she gives him the cold shoulder. J’onn apologizes to Kara for trusting in Black, but he might still be of some value. Black is onto Ben Lockwood and has his eyes set on the old Lockwood steel building.
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