Cadmus Labs had once been the glittering jewel of the scientific community. For four plus decades they had been at the forefront of every major discovery. From treatments to rare diseases to making contact with an alien life form, the scientists at Cadmus were revered for the advancements they made in the ongoing effort to create a better future for mankind. They received billions in funding but the investors only saw the public face that the Director wanted them to see. The truth was that Cadmus had darker and much more sinister projects they were working on. Rumors ran rampant about cloning, infecting populations of small rural towns with the very diseases they were working on treatments for. As the rumors spread like wildfire the scientists who only wanted to help, were appalled at what they had heard. Many quit in anger, while others stayed on, believing the rumors were false. Only Director Paul Westfield knew the truth until a whistleblower broke his non-disclosure agreement by meeting with Lois Lane.

Lois and Clark covered the story and blew the gates wide open. Their hard hitting expose brought the Government down on Cadmus like a hammer. Jim Harper had been head of security for the Labs, but even he was kept in the dark about Westfield's more dangerous tests. It wasn't until alarms sounded in the highest level security wing that he discovered the truth. Most of the rooms had been emptied so their power could be diverted to the most egregious experiment. Westfield and his chief scientist Dabney Donovan had acquired Kryptonian D.N.A. and were using it an attempt to create a life form that could take down Superman. Unfortunately, the clone degenerated before it was complete and all funding Cadmus received was immediately pulled.

The fallout was intense, and the scientists who had left before the rumors were proven true had gone on to form new Labs. One was Mercury and the other was Star Labs. Star had grown in the years since it was founded; now having facilities in Metropolis, Gotham, Coast City, Star City and Central City. Despite this, Cadmus found a way to survive. Most of the illegal tests had been linked back to the scientists who had stayed on, and they were left in disgrace even though they had no prior knowledge of said illegal experiments. This allowed Westfield and Donovan to set up a new Cadmus with backing by wealthy donors. One such financier was Lex Luthor. The other was Maxwell Lord. Though the two were rivals in industry, they found common ground in their mutual enemy, Superman. Both failed, Lex was now in jail, and Lord had fallen off the face of the earth. But their mission lives on and in a secret bunker, Westfield and Donovan are working on their newest recruit and current experiment.

"I could have engaged them. You know Supergirl wouldn't have stood a chance against me."

"Perhaps not, but we're still testing the output of your enhancement. The Meta you killed was a successful first, but you're not ready to go up against the both of them."

"The Flash is weak. What can he do to stop me? He runs fast, I'm a trained soldier. This enhancement you gave me makes me stronger."

"Temporarily at the moment. The radiation is still the unknown variable. All we've learned so far is that this is a remnant of the planet Krypton. We're not done testing it yet. And we still need more."

"Westfield..."

"Doctor Donovan is correct. The rock replaced your damaged heart, and has given you powers that will eventually make you a match for the Kryptonians, but their example has brought more and more aliens to our world. If our plan is to succeed, we need to know that we can stabilize this element. Our benefactors called it Kryptonite. But remember, our goals go beyond just Superman and his cousin."

"You know I haven't forgotten. You want the meta-humans wiped out too. Especially the ones created by the particle accelerator explosion at Star Labs; Central City. That explosion is the reason I'm here in the first place. This is what I got for still trying to be a hero."

"You are a hero, more of one than Superman, Supergirl or the Flash. In time we'll have an army of soldiers like you. A group of men and women dedicated to our initiative. Then Cadmus will be able to return from the shadows, making Star Labs obsolete once and for all."

While the Kryptonite was being subjected to a third round of testing, Barry and Kara were arriving at Star Labs. The sensors easily recognized the Flash, and he was allowed entry while Supergirl registered as an unknown causing the alarms to sound and lasers to inundate her with powerful beams that would vaporize a normal human. As it stands she barely felt anything and walked through them like she was strolling through a park.

"Kara!"

Barry was instantly worried for her and sped to the control panel, disabling the lasers with the hope that the lab's defense systems didn't hurt her. When he turned back after resetting the security system, he was surprised to see her unharmed and a slight smirk on her face.

"Relax Barry, I'm fine. The yellow sun that gives me my powers also makes me invulnerable to all earth based weapons. But I do have to say that these lasers seem a bit like overkill."

"They might be, but they were designed and installed for a purpose. We keep them on a modulating frequency designed to track and disable evil speedsters."

"You mean people with powers like yours."

"Yeah, but they don't kill. The energy creates a reaction that disrupts the Speed Force and anyone who has a connection to it."

"The Speed Force?"

"It's what my powers are tied to. We don't understand how it works, and we didn't even know it existed until I became the Flash."

"Uh-huh, so what do the lasers do to any evil speedsters that may get into Star Labs?"

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

"Which means...?"

"The laser energy works on a coefficient variable that causes paresthesia."

Kara still looked confused so Barry knew his explanation had gone slightly over her head, and he had to break it down for her as simply as possible.

"Basically we use the modulating frequency of the lasers to compress specific nerves in the speedster. Essentially, we make their muscles fall asleep. The continued barrage lasts long enough for me to get them into the Pipeline which though they can heal, it negates all other aspects of their powers."

"You deal with evil speedsters a lot here in Central City?"

"So far we've dealt with it twice."

"Wait, you're a speedster, how do you not fall victim to your own trap?"

"I set the frequency and the modulation, so the lasers don't track me."

"But how did you know what setting to use so it wouldn't, I mean..."

Once again Barry could see the question burning in Kara's eyes, and he could tell that she hadn't been living the superhero life for long. She barely even knew him and he her but both were already worrying for the other, so he answered her question as jokingly as he could.

"Tested it on myself, multiple times. You know the old saying, can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Anyway, come on, there's more to Star Labs than just our anti-speedster corridor."

Barry began walking again and Kara easily matched his stride. She didn't ask any more questions and the rest of their trek was spent in companionable silence. This gave Kara time to gather her thoughts as she made subtle glances at Barry out of the corner of her eye.

"I was right about him, he's a good man. A hero in every sense of the word. But this is strange; I never thought I'd be able to relate to anyone other than Kal on this world. But Barry...it's like he gets me, even better than James could and he's known Clark for years. I'm not sure how I can already feel this. Barry and I have known each other for maybe two hours now. I have to get a grip."

Barry knew Kara was occasionally glancing over at him as he gave her the short tour of Star Labs. While he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about, he was also lost in his own thoughts.

"What is it about her that has me so off my game? I shouldn't feel this comfortable around Kara and nervous around her at the same time. I feel like given time she could get me better than anyone else in my life. Iris gets me in a lot of ways, but that's because we grew up together. There's other ways though that I don't think she'll ever understand, but Kara does, or at least could. What the hell am I thinking? Get a grip Allen; she's just here to help catch this Meta killer."

After a few moments of their walk, the pair arrived at Star Labs main control room where both of them were confronted with a sight they didn't expect. Cisco, Caitlin and Joe were all waiting, each with a weapon trained on the unknown standing side by side with Barry.

"Flash, you sure took your time bringing the threat here! We got the alert that the anti-speedster defenses were triggered right before the video feed of the corridor cut out. What the..."

Cisco was the first to speak when Barry walked into the room. He was on edge thinking Thawne had returned as he trusted the man the most when they thought he was Wells, and was also the most lost after the reveal.

"Cisco, Joe, Caitlin, let me explain. She's not a threat. This is..."

"But you know you can't just bring someone back to Star without letting us know. Too many evil meta-humans have attempted to infiltrate the base, Flash."

"I know Caitlin, but trust me when I say Supergirl is not a threat. She's here to help."

"We trust you Flash, we're just not sure we can trust her."

"Look Barry, maybe I should just wait outside while you settle this. I really don't want to cause any problems here."

"No, no it's fine. Just hold on Kara..."

"Hold on nothing, she already knows your real identity? Barry this is...I'm really not sure what this is but I don't like it."

"Joe..."

"Barry, do you mind if I take this one?"

"Be my guest, Kara."

"Detective West, I know you don't have any reason to trust me, and I really can't blame you for that. But I want you to know that I'm here to help. You've had a murder in your city that has been assumed as alien on meta-human. Superman wouldn't let this slide and I'm not either."

"Okay Supergirl, Barry seems to trust you, so that's enough for me, for now. But a show of good faith would help as well."

As she did with Barry, Kara pulled out her glasses, putting them back on. Despite her uniform, Joe instantly recognized her from earlier in the day.

"You're the Cat Co. Media reporter. Dressed as Supergirl, I gotta say this is a slick act, you're still trying to get your story aren't you?"

"Yes, but the story is maybe five percent of it. And this isn't an act, I can prove it."

Kara knew she would have to use her powers to prove she really is Supergirl and figured on one demonstration. Using her heat vision, she set off the sprinkler system in the ceiling. Before the water could douse the computers, she followed up with her arctic breath, leaving the water frozen in the air.

"Proof enough for you, Detective?"