Chapter 1

Earth 38 - National City - Specific Location Unknown

Kara Danvers, also known as Supergirl moaned. And not in a happy way. Her head was spinning and she found it hard to stand. Waiting for things to settle she looked around. The last memory she had was accosting two bank robbers, one of them had sprayed something pungent in her face and then ... nothing.

She was seated on a standard wooden chair in a large nondescript room, about 30 feet across. Her chair was positioned within a blue box painted on the floor about 10x10, which also contained in the center what looked like a recliner set into a large base with very obvious restraints at the ankles and on armrests. Hanging from the relatively low ceiling above the chair was a large box. Two monitors were on a stand at the opposite corner of the blue box from where she was sitting. There was another box like an army footlocker with a hinged top in the third corner, to her right

Attempting to scan with her enhanced hearing and x-ray vision yielded nothing. Every surface in the room was apparently lined by lead or some other substance, and all she could make out was a humming sound.

Her attention was diverted when the left hand monitor came on, revealing a man sitting on the edge of a desk, wearing a white lab coat. He looked tall, fairly fit, with brown hair with a touch of grey at the temples. The desk was in what looked to be a standard professionals office, no windows were visible nor any other clues to his location. He could have been in the same building, or in another city. Before she could say anything witty, or even banal, the other monitor kicked in and she screamed out ‘Alex!’

Supergirl’s adopted sister was in a smaller version of the same room, strapped into a less complicated looking chair, but obviously firmly held in. The upper part of her head was encased in some kind of helmet but Kara recognized her immediately.

The man’s voice dragged her back to the other monitor. “Now, Supergirl, before you consider anything stupid, if you move anywhere outside that blue box, or damage any of the equipment in that room, 50,000 volts will immediately be pumped into that helmet Agent Danvers is wearing, with predictable results. You are fast, but not faster than the speed of light and there are sensors watching every inch of the border.”

“You son of a bitch. If you hurt her, I will...”

“Relax. I have no intention of hurting her. Or you. I just need you out of the picture for a while. If you do as I say, I guarantee you will both walk out of your respective locations unharmed within a few hours. I really have no desire to cause harm to anyone, its not in my nature. The helmet on her head is just keeping her in a state of hypnotic calm, its much safer than drugs. If I was sure it would work on your alien physiology, I would have just done the same to you. But, we do what we must. That said, I am not sure I would recommend leaving her like that for hours, but I am certain we will come to an agreement before then.”

Kara looked at the other monitor again. It was clear that Alex was not in distress, at most she was breathing a little heavier than normal and wriggling around in the chair a bit. It didn’t look comfortable, but certainly not painful. Not having any idea of where her sister was, or for that matter, where she was, she knew she didn’t have any choice and she sensed that the strange man was not bluffing.

“Fine, what do I have to do.”

“First, strip.”

“What?!”

“You are hardly going to fly across the city naked are you and I doubt you have a spare costume easily available, they cannot be easy to come by. When you have removed everything, place it in the trunk to your right and flip the lock. If you then try to open it before it is unlocked, I am pretty sure the acid released will be strong enough to eat through it, or at the very least make for an uncomfortable wearing experience. Again, if you cooperate, your costume too shall be released unharmed. Or, we can just sit here all day, same effect, not sure how good that is for your sister though.”

‘Apparently, that pervert has thought of everything,’ Kara said to herself. Seeing no other option, she reached down and unzipped along the back of her right book after freeing the hidden catch at the top, once it was lowered she slid the red boot off revealing the toes she had painted ‘supergirl red’ under her tights. She repeated the process with the other boot then stood, still a little shaky from whatever she had been sprayed with, she assumed under this man’s direction.