Charm City, 8:16 am
Emily Locke is taking the train to work and tells her fellow passenger that she moved there for a new job. The man says that Charm City sucks, just as they hear a crash from outside. Emily runs to the window and watches a superhero and supervillain fight. The other passengers could care less, but Emily watches them, thrilled. The villain Jack-O-Lantern blasts at the heroine, Crimson Fox, and his energy blasts take out the track ahead of the train.
Emily explains that she grew up in a flyover state where superheroes never stopped. She didn't have any powers so she finished school and got a soul-crushing job. One day her father reminded her that she doesn't need superpowers to accomplish something. Emily got a job at a company helping regular people feel safe in a world of superbattles.
Crimson Fox catches the train as it goes off the tracks, then sits it down on a nearby car. The passengers tell Emily that they see it every day, but Emily takes a selfie anyway.
Later, Emily arrives at Wayne Security and assistant Jackie takes her to Van Wayne. Van says that he's very close to his cousin, Bruce, and Bruce thought that Emily "sounds good." The CEO admits that business at Wayne Security is down, and he wants Emily as his new Director of R&D to come up with something big to impress Bruce. Emily assures Van that she won't let him down, and she wants to work there because she wants to help people. He says that she needs to kick the R&D team into shape, and doesn't want to hear her story about her father's flower shop. When Van signals, Jackie finally gets the idea that he wants her to interrupt, and takes her to see her team.
In the research lab, Teddy is studying a computer when Jackie brings Emily in and introduces her. Teddy explains that he's the chief design officer and takes her to the lab. The chief engineer, Ron, demonstrates his new protective suit the Wear Bag. It works fine the first time, but it only works once. Ron explains that LexCorp makes it and they're trying to figure out how it works so they can make a cheap knockoff.
Emily calls a staff meeting and says that they need to be better. She says that they have to innovate and push themselves rather than copy what LexCorp does. Emily explains that her train was blown off the tracks and they need to come up with something to deal with situations like that. Teddy asks if Emily has ever made a product, and walks off in disgust when she admits that she hasn't. Emily says that the company needs an idea and insists that Van hired her for a reason. They tell her that Emily is the fifth new boss that they've had that year.
Emily goes to Van's office, angry that he didn't tell her she was the fifth hire. Van explains that he was supposed to be promoted to the Gotham office, but someone took his spot so he's stuck in Charm City. Emily is there to come up with a big idea so that Van can get out of Charm City. She says that it will take some time, and Van tells her to get her to Gotham or someone else will.
Storming out, Emily tells Jackie that she's going to come up with a big idea. She admits that she came on a little strong, but figures that they need to bond as a unit.
Jack-O-Lantern hijacks the airwaves and calls out Crimson Fox. Jackie tells Van that Bruce is on the phone Van takes the call and is put on hold.
The software engineer, Wendy, makes up an Emily Alert to warn them when Emily comes over. When Emily comes over, Teddy says that she doesn't need to give them pep talks. Corporate shoots down all of their ideas because they're too expensive, and they're done getting their hopes up just to be crushed. Emily says that she believes in the team and she's not going anywhere. Van calls everyone together and says that they've all been fired. He explains that Bruce thinks that they're obsolete. Their products are powerless to stop superfights so Bruce is shutting them down.
Later, Emily talks to Van in his office and figures that there's something they can do. Van is drinking champagne and explains that he's being absorbed into the Gotham office. He figures that he'll always come out on top because he's a Wayne. Emily asks how long they have until it's official. Once she gets an answer, Emily goes to the lab and says that if they come up with a game-changing product, Bruce would have to reconsider. Ron offers his idea first: Kryptonite windows to keep Superman from crashing through. Emily wonders what happens if Superman needs to rescue the people inside, and Ron admits that he didn't consider that scenario..
Emily goes out on the balcony where Jackie is reading Emily's business book. She admits that she took the job to make a difference, and Jackie warns her that nobody makes a difference. Jack-O-Lantern flies by ranting, and the bookmark blows out of Emily's book. It's from Emily's father, who says that she doesn't need superpowers to make a difference. They see Jack-O-Lantern again and Emily wishes there was a way to sense him coming, and then gets an idea.
Emily goes back to the team and tells them her idea: rig the Emily Alert with chemoreceptors to extend its range, and use it to track supervillains. Teddy points out that they're all fired, and Emily tells them that she believes that they can change lives and figures that they still care.
The next morning, Emily and the team call Van out to the balcony. Emily demonstrates their new wrist device that has picked up Jack-O-Lantern's unique scent pattern. Van wonders why he should care when he's already picked out a penthouse in Gotham City. Emily threatens to take it to Bruce herself and she'll get promoted instead. Jack-O-Lantern flies by, demonstrating the "Jack-O-Alert" works, and Van agrees to take it to Bruce.
The team waits nervously until Van comes back. He tells everyone that he's not going to get to go to Gotham and he got a parking ticket. Jackie says that they're not fired, and Van explains that Bruce is putting the alert in beta. Bruce wants Van to stay there and inspire the team, and Van tells Emily that he blames her. Once Van leaves, everyone cheers.
That night, Emily goes out with her team to a bar to celebrate. They give her a bus pass, which is much safer than the train. They offer a toast to Emily.
Later, Ron and Teddy watch a report about how Batman used a new scentreceptor to track Joker. Emily comes in and is surprised that Batman came up with the same device that they did, and hopes that someday they'll work for him.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 3, 2017