At the DEO, a Kryptonite contamination alarm goes off. Alex tries to contact Supergirl, and Brainiac-5 says that it's everywhere.
At the rally hall, Hank starts to approach Agent Liberty. He's interrupted when Alex calls and explains that she lost contact with Supergirl. He flies off to find Supergirl, and Brainiac-5 locates her falling and warns that the impact will kill her in her weakened state. J'onn catches her just in time and takes her to the DEO.
When J'onn gets to the DEO, he says that yellow sun radiation should help her. They exposure her to the radiation room, and realize that Jensen took the lead dispersal device they used against the Daxamites, to distribute the kryptonite. Hank suggests that they use Astra's anti-kryptonite shield and Brainiac-5 goes to get it. Alex tells Hank about the security breach and insists that she's not losing her sister.
Brainiac-5 returns with the shielding device just as Supergirl seizes, and they attach the device to her.
Two Years Ago
Ben Lockwood watches a replay of Supergirl on the TV as she says that the people of Earth can't give up and she needs their help. Ben and his family watch his father Pete complains that other aliens were responsible for Operation Myriad. Ben's wife Lydia tries to stop him, and their son George says that he hears kids at school say the same thing. Ben tries to stop Pete, but Pete continues talking about how aliens have infested Earth and the President's amnesty program. He asks George how deep the conspiracy goes and walks out, and Lydia tells Ben to drive Pete to work.
As Ben drives his father to his factory job, Pete complains about the alien factory opening up across the street. His son tells him to think of the good the Nth material it produces can do, and Pete says that they lost the Luther Corporation contract earlier and had to shut down two of their furnaces. Ben talks about the Industrial Revolution, and Pete says that he's not one of his students and steel is what paid for Ben's college education. Ben assures his father that he and his workers are strong and they'll figure something out.
The two men arrive at the factory and find workers running to the alien factory and stopping a truck pulling out. Ben runs over and tells Pete to stop it, but he refuses. An alien comes out and says that they're workers just like them. Ben runs over and calls on everyone to calm down, and a worker throws a bottle and hits the alien. He fires off his arm spikes, hitting Ben and others, and a riot brings out. Supergirl and Alex arrive with the DEO to quell the riot.
After they end the riot, Alex gets Ben into an ambulance. She assumes that he was one of the workers, and Ben says that his family and the workers are scared. Alex says that Supergirl went easy on them and leaves. Pete is talking to Hank, who says that the alien is an American. The factory owner says that the alien assaulted his son, but Hank insists that it was a biological defense mechanism. The DEO agents head out to support Supergirl, and Pete checks on Ben. Ben wonders why the FBI is working with Supergirl and against them.
Ben goes to Metropolis and approaches Lena in the L-Corp lobby. He explains that he's Pete's son and Lena says that they're staying current and using Nth metal. Lena says that it's a chance to automate the plant, but Ben points out that the upgrading costs millions.
Fourteen Months Ago
Ben is talking about Manifest Destiny and notices that his white board is made of Nth metal. He then says that progress isn't as great as many have claimed, and knows some Americans are worse off for the Alien Amnesty Act. Ben tells his students to think about who paid the price for progress.
Back at home, Ben finds a drunken Pete at home. Pete says that he shut down the whole factory after the bank refused him a loan. He tells his sons that they didn't stand up and fight the "roaches", and Georg chimes in with him. Ben goes to talk to the bank, and Pete complains that all he does is talk when he should be a man. Rhea comes on the TV to announce that they have come to bring Earthlings a better way.
The Daxamite ships fly over the town, and Ben and Lydia stockpile supplies. Ben suggests that they should leave because they're running out of food and water. Pete hears him talking and says that they should stay and fight for what is theirs. George figures that Supergirl will come save them, but Ben says that she's an alien just like the invaders. He asks Pete what they'll fight with, and says that they can come together as a family. Ben has them get everything ready and says that they can do it together.
Pete and George load up the truck, and Lydia tells Ben that he's a good man. Daxamite ships open fire on the town, and J'onn knocks a Daxamite down into the house. They fight, destroying the house, and J'onn finally takes his opponent down. He tells the Lockwoods that they're safe and flies off with his prisoner, while the house burns.
Twelve Month Ago
At CatCo, James watches on the TV as Cat takes statements from the press. Eve brings in Ben for his appointment, and Ben asks him why CatCo doesn't cover the impact of extraterrestrial attacks on normal citizens. James points out that they do, and Ben says that the story is still ongoing and people have lost jobs and homes. He explains that home owner insurance doesn't cover alien invasion, and there are people behind the numbers and it would be helpful if CatCo covered their stories. James says that he appreciates his position and Ben wonders if he's been listening. Eve interrupts to say that Lena is calling, and James tells Ben that it's up to Lena because she runs CatCo now.
Six Months Ago
In his class, Ben talks about people who want to protect their homes from outsiders. An alien student says that America is a country of immigrants, and Ben notices that Ben Franklin feared immigrants. When the student objects, Ben notes that she wouldn't understand because she's an alien. He asks how alien workers compete against aliens. Ben goes on about how alien immigrants can't assimilate as a matter of biology. One student walks out, disgusted, and Ben says that he'd be proud if they called him a nativist. The alien says that it's xenophobia and she walks out along with many of the other students.
Later, Dean Warren meets with Ben and warns that students are complaining about his lectures. She says that he's been warned about his rhetoric multiple times and now they believe he should take a leave without pay.
Ben goes to the bar and finds Nia talking to the alien student. He asks her if she reported him and says that it's his livelihood. She says that she didn't but someone probably did. Kara comes over and asks if ben is okay, and Ben insists that "roaches" are dangerous. When he moves toward the student, Kara "accidentally" bumps into him. He calls her an Earth traitor and walks off.
Four Months Ago
Ben is handing out flyers and a man bumps into him. The man claims that it was an accident but Ben doesn't believe him. As he picks up his flyers, Otis comes over and tells Ben to keep spreading the good word. An explosion rocks the area, and Supergirl and Alura land nearby and fight aliens. Ben calls Lydia and asks if she's safe, and she says that she can't reach Pete. He drives to the factory to find Pete, and finds him trapped under a girder that fell due to the alien attack. Pete says that he can't lift the girder, and says that he came there on purpose to die in his factory because it's always been over. He figures that it's time is over and so is his, and all the good years are long behind him. Pete tells Ben to stand tall and raise George like he raised Ben, and says that he should fight for what is his. Ben has no choice but to run out as the factory collapses around him.
Later, Ben attends Pete's funeral and gives the eulogy. He reads Pete's favorite quote by Winston Churchill saying to never give in. Lena sits down in the back, and after the service Ben approaches her. Ben points out that he asked for help, and Lena says that it's about the people not the factory. She wanted to set up a fund in Pete's name, but Ben refuses and tells her that she works with the aliens that killed Pete. Lena warns him not to go down the path of hatred or he'll end up like Lex. Ben walks off and the workers invite him to have a beer with them.
As they get together to drink, the workers thank Ben for hiring them to patch up their home. They glare at the alien factory, and a drunken Ben suggests that they do something rather than just talk. Ben says that they should burn down the factory. That night, Ben and the workers sneak into the alien factory ad Ben throws the first Molotov cocktail. The spiked alien from the riot staggers out, insisting that he's just like them, but Ben says that he's an alien and beat him to death.
Two Months Ago
After James is revealed as Guardian, Ben addresses people on the street and talks about humans standing up for humans. He sees Dean Warren getting coffee and goes over to talk to her. Ben says that he's good and Warren says that she and her wife Minnie lost their homes in the Genesis events. She says that throwing Ben out on the street was wrong and now a lot of people are going through the same thing. Ben says that they can fight back and he and his friends are putting together a support group. he invites Warren to join them and she takes his flyer.
As Ben walks away, a limo pulls up. Mercy says that she knows what he and his followers have been doing and invites him into the limo. Once he does, Mercy tells him that they found a partial fingerprint and DNA and gives him body armor. She says that Ben has done good work and they need to work together. The people Mercy works with don't have Ben's gift for communication, and she explains that they're going to expose Marsdin as an alien and change the world. Ben points out that he doesn't know who she is, and Mercy introduces herself and Otis as her chauffeur. Mercy gives Ben a photo of Fiona and says that she's an alien organizing other aliens, and some have skills that they can use.
Ben goes to the ruins of Pete's factory and dons the Agent Liberty body armor that Mercy gave him. He goes on to lead the anti-alien movement.
Today
Brainiac-5 reports that the yellow sun radiation isn't working fast enough. They have to get Supergirl out of Earth's atmosphere, but she's too weak to take her off-world. Brainiac-5 tells Alex that there's nothing she can do, and Alex figures that she has to ask someone else for help.
Lena soon arrives and Alex says that her helping Supergirl means a lot to her. They go into the medbay and Lena takes out an expandable exoskeleton containing a sealed proto-environment. She says that Supergirl will have to stay in it until they can detoxify the atmosphere. They have no choice and put the exoskeleton on Supergirl.
Agent Liberty meets with Mercy, Otis, and Jenson. Mercy prepares to kill Jenson, and ben removes his mask and says that they don’t kill their own. He asks Jenson if he can get them into the DEO, and Jenson nods in agreement.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 29, 2018