Original subtitles

[Kara] Previously on Supergirl...

I'm going to ask the Super Friends if I can be embedded with them.

[Kara chuckles] Lena, you're back!

Did you find anything else about your mom?

Kind of a lot to process.

So I prefer if we could just jump back into work.

Maybe you could bring me up to speed.

We're in a race against a vengeful Fifth Dimensional Imp named Nyxly

to find seven Totems before she can use them to wipe us out of existence.

- She's angry. - Kara?

- Nyxly's angry. - My pain is the price of power.

And with it, I will find the rest of the Totems.

No, not again!

Well, you are a ringer.

Well, it's called hand-eye coordination.

I don't know what else to tell you, babe.

Don't we have enough stress in our lives?

What's stressful?

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

[Alex] Whose turn is it?

- [Nia] J'onn's. - Okay, everyone,

so, hopefully, she'll be home soon, and then we can...

- [J'onn J'onzz] Hey. - [Alex] Hey.

- What are you guys doing here? - It's game night, remember?

We thought that it would cheer you up.

Oh, that's... [sighs]

Guys, that's really sweet. I just figured with Nyxly still out there,

we would cancel our plans.

We all need to relax and decompress. You most of all, Kara.

Yeah, but there's still no sign of Nyxly and she already has one Totem.

Brainy is on the Legion ship and he's scanning for Nyxly's ship.

So if she or Mitch pop up anywhere, we'll know.

Besides, the mental tether you share with Nyxly could be a benefit to us.

Yeah, well, I... I can't read her mind.

I-I can only sense her extreme emotions.

And it's not like a light switch I can just turn on and off.

I feel like I'm constantly just waiting for it to happen.

I can't think of anything else.

We have to find her.

Well, I might have something that can help.

- My mother's book of spells. - Have you found anything useful?

Not yet. I'm trying to figure out the underlying scientific logic,

but I'm beginning to think magic is mainly just instinct and intuition.

Honestly, that sounds a lot like dream interpretation.

Maybe I could help you try to sort some of that out?

I'd really like that.

- Maybe we could start tomorrow. - Yeah.

Lena, there's... There's something we need to tell you.

Um... [clicks tongue]

William Dey is going to be embedded at the Tower,

covering all of us for CatCo.

A reporter? At the Tower? Are you sure that's such a good idea?

We think that it would be good for the mission. We need the public support.

Especially if things continue to spiral with Nyxly.

But still, he'll have to work within our parameters.

Which means keeping your identity and your connection to us off the record.

Well... [exhales] good luck tomorrow.

You won't be at the Tower?

I have a home check with an alien orphan named Esme.

I met her at Joey's group home.

She was placed with a foster family last week.

Hopefully, she ends up with a family where she can really blossom.

[chuckles]

Why are you laughing?

Like that?

It's Nyxly.

I can sense her and she's... She's really happy.

Another Totem in National City.

It's almost too easy. [chuckles]

It's as if fate is just dropping them on my doorstep.

[chuckles]

But the moment we leave the ship to get it,

Supergirl and her friends are going to be able to track us.

Well, then we better move quickly.

[theme music playing]

And I even have my own bathroom.

Can you believe?

And your new foster parents, Dana and Joe?

Are they treating you okay?

They make pancakes for dinner if I want.

[chuckles]

Oh... I almost forgot.

After everything she's been through to have such spirit, it's just wonderful.

I'm so happy the three of you are hitting it off.

I'll check back in next week to make sure everyone's okay.

[Dana chuckles] Ooh!

I made you this to thank you for everything.

- See? I have one too. - [chuckles]

I absolutely love it. Thank you.

[Kelly laughing]

A PI office as cover, huh?

I've always found it's best to hide in plain sight.

I just wanted to say I appreciate you trusting me with your secrets, J'onn.

- Or should I call you "Mr. Manhunter"? - "J'onn" will do.

I'm curious. Um, how did Kara and Nia develop

such close relationships with the Martian head of the former DEO?

Let's just say they have a friend in common.

- Alex, you're, uh... - My partner in crime.

Welcome to the Tower.

Wow.

This place is incredible.

How do you fund an operation like this?

Not easily.

You would be amazed how much these suits cost to dry clean.

[William laughs]

But hey, um, first, we do have some ground rules.

I don't let my sources dictate what I write. I'm sorry.

No, it's... It's nothing like that, William.

We're never going to ask you to lie.

Only that you help us protect the people of National City

by keeping private some things that may jeopardize our missions.

Trust me, I believe in a free press more than you know.

Good to hear. So how does this work?

Well, you can't disclose the location of the Tower,

and you can't ID the Super Friends or even try to learn their identities.

[Alex] Not even my sister Kara knows.

If you do, I'll wipe your mind.

- [chuckles] - [Dreamer] He'll do it.

Yeah.

Oh, and before you file any story, just run it by one of us, please.

Okay.

So, what're you guys working on now?

[trilling]

It's Naxim's ship. It's over the city.

Nyxly.

[rock music playing]

Hey, kid.

I was frightened before my first big match too.

- I'm not frightened. - No shame in fear, bro.

Most important is to become one with your humanity.

What are you? Some kind of monk?

No.

But I studied with 'em.

The Buddha once sat under a tree made of this wood.

The vendor swore, dude. It keeps me focused.

You have no idea what you're holding in your hand,

do you, muscle boy?

That is one of the seven keys

to unlocking all the power of the universe.

And you've just been carrying it around in your sweaty pocket

with loose change and unwrapped candies.

Give it to me.

Now.

Cgyrzyx.

[man] The Totem can belong only to one of ready heart.

Is that you?

- Yes. - Then use it wisely.

That's it?

There's no... gauntlet?

[chuckles]

All right then.

[rock music playing]

Mitch, now.

J'onn, I'm gonna need backup.

Send everyone. Send anyone. And hurry.

Police are warning the public to stay away from midtown as chaos erupts...

J'onn stayed back at the arena to get things under control.

- Sentinel and Guardian did too. - What happened exactly?

Nyxly got ahold of another Totem and activated it like it was nothing.

And then... And then, she used it.

And it turned people depraved,

but not cold or unfeeling.

But they're actually gleeful.

They're taking joy in theft and violence and destruction.

Humanity is everything we think of as compassion and empathy.

Exactly the things that Nyxly drained from her victims.

So the Humanity Totem is probably the one Nyxly got.

There had to have been at least 10,000 people in the blast radius of the arena.

But luckily, it seems to have only affected a couple hundred.

Patching into the NCPD's CompStat technology,

we can track real-time crime incidents represented by the blue dots.

Well, don't look so surprised. I'm smart too.

You guys are just showoffs.

[both] Hmm.

Did you find anything in your mom's book?

Uh, yeah, there is this one spell.

It's "finding which was lost."

Which, if I understand my mother's writings correctly,

uses the discharged energy from the Humanity Totem to track it.

So we find the Totem, we find Nyxly.

Like a homing beacon.

Lena, this is great. Can you do it?

It's a bit advanced, but we've been readying the lab.

The air within 30 feet of where Nyxly used the Totem

would have been hyper-ionized.

I just need a sample of the particles.

I'm on it.

See? Maybe you can find science in the magic after all.

[chuckles]

[William clears throat]

Could we talk a minute?

- So, Alex caught you up? - Yeah.

A revenge-obsessed imp hell-bent on acquiring interdimensional Totems

capable of wreaking universal destruction is here on Earth,

and Lena Luthor has magical abilities.

Just another Tuesday in National City. [clicks tongue]

This Nyxly is unlike anything the public has faced before.

The threats and strange events of the past few weeks

are because of her, aren't they?

The people deserve to know who and what they're up against.

There are so many other things you could write about,

like how we work together or keep people safe.

Naming Nyxly is about safety.

Keeping this a secret will only cause more harm.

Nyxly doesn't know we have Lena right now, that we have magic.

So if you write about this and what we're doing,

Nyxly could find a way to stop us.

But if you write about this and don't write about what we're doing,

it'll look like we're losing, and that will cause people to panic.

So your only move is to not write about Nyxly at all.

- You'd make a good reporter. - [chuckles]

[man] Help! Please help!

Duty screams.

How did that home check go with that little girl...

Esme?

- It was great. - Oh, I'm so glad.

I know you were worried about her.

Looks like she's gonna get her happy ending.

And she made me this as a thank you.

[clicks tongue] Aw!

Nice move. And nice bracelet.

[J'onn J'onzz] Sentinel, Guardian. NCPD needs help at Sixth and Convoy.

"The epicenter of the inexplicable chaos seems to be...

Burnett Arena."

Wait, that's my story. I'm literally writing it right now.

Have you hacked my computer?

Kara and others are already covering the chaos.

You are embedded with the Super Friends.

You need to play up that angle.

What do they know about what's happening, when did they find out,

and who is responsible for it?

There are certain things I'm not able to report on.

At least not yet.

You're the reporter who broke open the BX gas scandal in Kaznia.

And you didn't do it by pussyfooting around the story.

You're holding out on me. Start naming names.

The Super Friends are my sources. I've only just gained their trust.

It isn't in my interest or CatCo's interest to burn them right away.

The longer I embed with them, the more I learn,

the better the eventual story will be.

I see what is happening.

They're making you feel welcome,

showing you around, showing off their gadgets,

making you feel like you're one of them.

- But you are not. - I know I'm not one of them.

Good, because they may be the Super Friends...

But they are not your friends.

Now come back with a real story...

Or you don't come back at all.

[scoffs]

This job just gets weirder and weirder.

Okay.

[speaking Latin] Invenire res amissa.

- [buzzing] - [whirring]

- Was there just an energy spike? - Let me check.

- Dreamer! - Uh...

I can't...

I can't tell my lefts from my rights.

Okay, I am so sorry. I will... I will fix this.

I mean, it's kind of hilarious.

Um...

It's not permanent?

No, no, no. I just must have miscalculated the ingredients.

It should wear off in about an hour.

- Any luck with that spell? - Not yet. But...

Lena broke my brain.

Huh.

Well, the violence out there is spreading.

The more we fight these attackers,

the more joyful they seem in fighting back.

[gasps]

It's Nyxly.

She feels different.

There's no rage anymore, just... just...

Compassion.

I've never felt anything like this from her before.

I don't know what this means.

We need that spell to work, Lena.

And we need it to work now.

[Mitch whistling]

- Ah! - [gasps] Oh!

Oh, Mitch!

You poor, broken thing.

Oh!

We have so much work to do.

I can't possibly lose you now.

Are you, um, feeling okay?

Mmm-hmm.

Never better.

We already have two Totems.

And if the next one is as easy to use as the Humanity Totem was,

I expect we'll have all seven in no time.

[chuckles]

[alarm blaring]

The next Totem's at The Hague.

We're going to the Netherlands.

I love travel!

Supergirl brought me up to speed.

So, Lena Luthor can do magic.

That's off the record.

[William] Of course. You can trust me.

I'm not sure how accurate that statement is, anyway.

So, what else are you working on?

It's a spell from my mother's book.

I'm trying to track the Humanity Totem's energy and...

Hopefully, Nyxly as well.

This is your mum's book?

Reminds me of a family recipe book.

Yeah, I guess you could call it that.

Except I have followed this spell's recipe to a T,

I have checked all the directions.

I have measured all the ingredients twice, and...

- All I managed to do was break Dreamer. - Hmm.

I remember when I was a kid,

every Sunday I'd wake up

and my dad was already in the kitchen tossing something together.

Muffins, scones, the occasional pie.

You name it.

After he died,

I would try to recreate his pastries,

but they always came out... off.

What I eventually realized was that I was being too technical.

I was so focused on the exact measurements,

I'd forgotten the ingredients.

Berries he'd picked from our garden,

the crust he'd make by hand.

He wasn't just baking...

He was creating.

He put his heart into it.

When I stopped comparing my skills to my dad's,

and I began to trust myself to make his recipes my way...

I finally became the baker I'd always hoped to be.

Next time you try one your mum's spells,

put your heart into it.

Maybe you'd be surprised at the result.

Thank you.

[grunting]

Hey.

Don't worry, hon.

The news said whatever's happening is miles away,

and now we've got plenty of food, water, and ice cream.

Joe and I will take care of you, okay?

- Okay. Good girl. - [helicopter blades whirring]

[exclaiming]

Aw, you scared, little one?

Good.

[Esme screams]

Oh, my God. Are you okay?

Oh.

[J'onn J'onzz] The chaos is spreading out from the arena to the waterfront.

Have the satellites picked up anything?

Spy satellites?

We, uh... we borrowed some satellites to track Nyxly's ship.

[J'onn J'onzz] Yeah, that's off the record.

And, uh, no, nothing.

No Nyxly, no Totem.

We're still at square one.

Maybe not.

The seeds we used came from a big box store.

They've been packaged, processed and made dull.

That's not how they would have been gathered when my mother read the spell.

We need seeds from the wild.

Sheep Laurel is a flowering shrub

from the Limestone Barrens of Newfoundland.

Here, it would have to be grown under the right conditions.

The Botanical Gardens. That's close to the arena.

Ground zero for the violence.

I'll go get you some.

No. I-I need to come with you.

The effective particles are unstable and diminishing in potency.

I need to be on site to make the spell work.

I'm coming too.

I was a war correspondent.

Closer I am to the action, better my reporting.

[Mitch] The Totem is in an alcove just off the library.

Get inside and look for a sculpture called "The Hand of the Flower."

Kill the guard without drawing attention.

The Sheep Laurel has to be around here somewhere.

Oh, there it is.

[men grunting]

[William] You protect Lena. I got this.

[cell phone ringing]

Yeah.

[speaking Latin] Auge navitas pro omnibus homnibus.

Auge navitas pro omnibus homnibus.

[Mitch] Nyxly, what's happening?

Kill the guard. Get the Totem.

Nyxly, kill the guard.

I can't do it.

We don't have time. Just do it.

I can't do it.

Guys, she suddenly got violent.

I think I made things worse.

I thought the spell would locate the Humanity Totem

by amplifying its energy signature.

But Latin can be interpreted in a lot of ways.

I mean, I got it wrong.

The spell amplified the energy's potency.

So the people already affected were made more callous and vicious?

Yes. My spell backfired,

and it drained the humanity from more people in the arena,

and now those people are running wild in National City, and it's my fault.

I'm responsible.

Maybe... maybe you can undo it.

How? I don't even know how the magical abilities I can harness

will interact with Fifth Dimensional energy.

Maybe there's another spell in your mother's book you can try.

You want me to try more magic?

Nyxly already has two Totems.

She's probably close to getting a third.

Science has gotten us nowhere.

Your magic is our only option.

[sighs]

What kind of being hurts others for their own benefit?

Nyxly, there's something wrong with you.

The Hope Totem was yours for the taking.

After everything you've gone through to just give up now,

it doesn't make any sense.

Mitch.

Remember how strange I thought it was that...

the Totem had no gauntlet?

What if... the Totem is the test?

What if when I unleashed its power, it drained every drop of humanity

from anyone standing in the blast radius?

What if...

all that compassion and empathy flooded into me?

That's why you couldn't kill the guard.

He might've had children.

He might've had people who loved him and cared about him.

All I could think was how sad they'd be if I took him away from them.

[voice breaking] I can't bear it.

All right.

We already have two Totems now.

Maybe there's a way of getting the others without hurting anyone.

That way you get what you want.

And I still get the life you promised me.

Mitch.

[laughs]

Oh, it's brilliant!

You're brilliant.

Thank you.

You're always thinking about me.

[gasping]

Guys.

Nyxly is overwhelmed with feelings.

It's almost like all of the humanity she took from her victims

had to go somewhere, and now it's going into her.

Wait, you said that Nyxly used the Totem immediately.

But that would mean that there's no gauntlet.

And from all of our research, we know that there's always a gauntlet.

That could mean that using the Totem itself is the gauntlet.

And we may be able to use that to our advantage.

How?

By repeating Lena's mistake at the Botanical Gardens

and taking more humanity away from the original people

that were affected at the arena in the first place.

And in the same way that National City is overrun by chaos right now,

if we flood Nyxly with emotions, it might be too much for her to handle.

And... and it might force her

to restore everyone's humanity and get rid of the Totem.

It'd be sure to draw her out.

We could capture the Totems and Nyxly.

We can end this today.

Can't do it.

What?

I won't do it.

It's wrong.

Lena, people need help now. This...

This is for the greater good.

For the greater good?

Do you hear yourself right now?

- That's... that's not what I meant. - [Nia] Um...

William, have I shown you the kitchen yet?

We have a new coffee machine that is literally out of this world.

Brainy picked it up from Corvon-4...

I can't believe you would not help.

Not if it means losing who we are in the process

because then we're no better than she is.

I know that you are still processing the fact that you can use magic,

and I know that I have been pushing you out of your comfort zone.

But that's only because I believe in you, and...

I'm...

I'm terrified.

She makes me feel powerless.

Nyxly's magic is unlike anything I've ever faced.

I feel like I don't know how to beat her,

and if she gets all seven Totems, I won't be able to.

You can do something I can't.

I need your help, Lena.

From everything you've told me about Nyxly,

she's more than just her magic.

She is cunning and manipulative and cruel.

Who does that remind you of?

Lex.

You've beat him before and you will beat Nyxly too,

but not by doing whatever it takes to win.

But by doing the right thing.

My mother hurt people with her magic.

Unintentionally, but...

She hid the truth of what happened, and that secret destroyed lives.

I'm so sorry.

Nyxly has caused so much pain,

and I don't want to hurt anybody with my magic or deceit.

You're right.

Mmm, you're right. We can't cross lines in darkness,

however good the reasons.

Secrets are hard to hide in the light of day.

But maybe...

But maybe the light of day is just what we need.

I did not come here to report on the Tower's kitchen appliances.

Excuse me?

Why did you even allow me in here

if you won't let me report what's really going on?

You agreed to our ground rules.

The situation has changed.

The violence in the city is getting worse.

You guys have no plan.

Yes, we do.

Lena is going to amplify the Totem's power

so that everyone who was within Nyxly's blast radius at the arena

will lose their humanity, too.

We believe that Nyxly is being infused with the compassion

that she's drained from her victims.

With more people affected, we think she'll get overwhelmed

and then use the Totem again to restore everyone's humanity.

Okay, but doing so will cause

even more chaos and destruction throughout the entire city.

So, we'll have to spread out and try our best to keep the city safe.

Until when?

Until Nyxly's drawn out.

If she comes out. She might not.

And the longer people are affected by the Totem's power,

the less they seem to care about anything.

This is a dangerous situation.

Lena, you were against this plan before. What changed?

You.

You have to write about what's going on here,

so people can't accuse us of operating in secret.

The time has come for full transparency.

By shining a light on our actions,

the people will be able to make up their own opinions about our methods.

If I agree to this, I tell the story my way.

Nyxly's identification,

her search for the Totems, and the role of magic in all this.

Those are my ground rules.

All right, tell your story.

I'll set the computers to scan for Nyxly's ship

and alert us if he shows up.

I hope this works.

You wanted closer to the action,

you got it.

Huh.

You sure you want to be out in the open to do this?

I've gotta get out of my head and I can't do that in a lab.

Okay. We'll keep people from getting hurt when your spell hits them.

[speaking Latin] Auge navitas pro omnibus homnibus.

Auge navitas pro omnibus homnibus.

Auge navitas pro omnibus homnibus.

[grunting]

[Supergirl] J'onn, there's a carjacking happening at Maine and 5th.

[J'onn J'onzz] I'm on it.

Help, somebody! My son is in there!

[Supergirl] Dreamer, there's a situation at the bus stop on 8th.

Sleep tight.

- Hi. - [groans]

[Dreamer] All good here, Supergirl.

[Nyxly] No. No, no more.

[gasps]

Get a grip, girl.

It's only the Totem...

Messing with you.

Concentrate.

Concentrate on getting the next one.

The Hope Totem.

How can I be expected to get anything done

[exhales]

when there's so much suffering on this planet?

If only I didn't have this damn cuff,

I could snap away poverty, disease, hunger.

I could save the snow leopards from extinction.

Am I the only one that cares?

[sighs]

[groans]

- Let me in! - It's okay, Esme.

Just do your fire breathing thing again.

I told you, I don't know how I did it. It was an accident.

Just be a big girl. You can have some ice cream later, okay?

Keep us safe.

[man] Look what we have here.

Step aside...

[groaning] Ow!

[Guardian] You're safe now.

We won't let anyone hurt you.

[whooshing]

What?

Where we going?

[exhales]

National City.

I'm giving everyone their humanity back.

Now.

You can't!

What I can't do...

is take it anymore.

How am I going to hunt down the other Totems

if I don't stop feeling so deeply?

[groans]

If we leave the ship, Supergirl will be able to find us.

[voice breaking] I don't care.

[chuckling maniacally]

[woman] Please don't hurt me.

Help! Help! Somebody help!

[groans]

You're gonna be okay.

Thank you.

I hope we all will be.

[J'onn J'onzz] Supergirl, we got a hit on Nyxly's ship.

Cgyrzyx!

Hey, boss. Feeling better?

No.

No!

Why did you let me get rid of the Totem?

Fly down. Get it.

Change of plans.

Get us out of here.

[Lena] Hard to believe a small piece of wood from the bodhi tree

can cause so much chaos.

Well, now that Nyxly's back to her old self,

she'll no doubt be on the hunt for another Totem.

And now she's lost her Humanity Totem, she'll be angrier than ever.

When William publishes his article,

everyone in National City's gonna know about her and the Totems.

And that the Super Friends have evened the score.

It's time we get a head start on Nyxly. Any ideas how?

I still have some of those ionized particles left. They're still active.

Each of the Totems has the same energy signal,

so we could use the particles to track another one.

There's just enough left for one, though.

Okay, so which one do we go after?

Well, there's the Dream Totem.

Sounds like something I might be able to help with.

[laughs]

William, your article is fantastic.

"A frustrated imp hell-bent on revenge."

"The Super Friends in a race to get powerful Totems."

"Magic?" [chuckles]

Our readers are gonna eat this up.

I'm glad you liked it.

I love it.

And now for your follow-up,

this Tower the Super Friends work out of, where is it?

And what are their plans to defeat this "Nyxly"?

Oh, and you must reveal who among the Super Friends

has the magical power to fight her.

No.

I'm sorry. Did you say no?

I'm the one embedded with the Super Friends.

So I'm going to cover the story my way.

Not theirs, and not yours.

You don't get to tell me how to do my job anymore.

Now you can either take the stories I give you,

or I am sure the Daily Planet would be interested in running them.

Hmm.

Fine.

But I'm moving your desk next to the bathrooms.

- [Kara] Hey. - Hey.

- How's William's article? - It's fantastic.

I saw J'onn reading it early on, but I couldn't tell if he liked it.

Yeah, he likes to play it close to the vest.

But it's out there now. There's no turning back.

I just hope people will understand why we did what we had to do.

Some will.

Others will accuse us of abusing our power.

But at least we can debate about it in the open.

Yeah.

You know, I wanted to thank you for helping me get outside my comfort zone

and embrace my magic.

And thank you for reminding me that it's important

to have clear boundaries with friends.

- Potsticker me. - Here. Take 'em.

I don't want to use my fingers.

- I'm going to. - Oh, that's classy.

- Mmm-hmm. [muffled] You know me. - [laughs]

[Kelly] I'm here for you, Esme.

Did Mrs. Ford remember to pack everything?

I think so.

Hi.

Esme, this is Alex Danvers, my girlfriend.

Hello, Ms. Danvers.

Hi, Esme. I've heard a lot about you.

You have?

I have. And it's all good things.

So, what's going on?

Esme, will you excuse us for a minute?

Okay.

[sighs]

Hon...

we are waiting for the van from Social Services.

The Fords changed their mind.

They requested another placement for Esme.

- They're giving her back? - Mmm-hmm.

They said she's not a right fit for their family.

Oh, but she was a right fit

when they forced her to confront armed attackers?

I told them even though she's an alien with powers,

it was their job to protect her.

- Not the other way around. - Good for you, babe.

'Cause I would have punched their lights out.

I know going back to the group home wasn't what you were hoping for.

But it's only a matter of time till you get a new foster family.

One that can help you understand your powers.

It's okay if the next one doesn't work out either.

I'm never going to have a real home.

Come here, kiddo.

- You're so strong. - Can I take your bag for you?

It's okay.

It's good to have you back to your old self. [chuckles]

I mean, let's figure out how to get this Hope Totem out of The Hague.

Losing the Humanity Totem was a blip in the road.

It will be mine again.

They all will.

No matter what I have to do to get them.

[theme music playing]