Two thieves drive through the night after robbing a family. As they argue, the woman--Pamela Ferrer-- finds an invitation to a Heart Association Valentine ball. A meteor slams down nearby and the driver, Chuck Grossman, goes off the road. Pamela gets out of the car while Chuck deals with his jammed door. Pamela checks out the crater and finds a serpent-like creature crawling out of the wreckage... and it lunges at Pamela.
Kara and Alex go to J'onn's office to bring him Valentine's gift, and J'onn explains that he received gifts from his alien support group. Alex complains that she hasn't been able to pursue things in her personal life and has been working on her adoption portfolio. When Marsdin was exposed, she didn't have time for it and she's been doing nothing. Kara gives her some candy and says that Nia and her roommate Yvette are throwing a Valentine Day's party and they could go together. Alex gets a call about the car crash and excuses herself. Once Alex leaves, Kara says that she misses being Alex's partner.
Mrs. Stuart comes in to J'onn's office and says that she thinks her husband has been kidnapped.
Brainiac-5 visits Nia at her apartment and offers his condolences on her mother's death, and offers to help her train as a superhero. He suggests that she separate her grief from her thoughts so she can become a crimefighter like him and Supergirl, but Nia says that she's still morning. However, Nia invites him to come to the party that night.
In prison, Lydia and George visit Ben. Ben tells them that he believes that the movement he created will create the circumstances of his relief. George wants to do something immediately, and Ben tells him to be the man that Ben's grandfather wanted him to be when he was George's age. As they go, Ben whispers something to George.
Haley joins Alex at the crash site and says that she came back to help her daughter with a school project. She says that she met with President Baker and he's disappointed that Ben is polling better than he is. Agent Reiff reports that the object that crashed was a spaceship and whatever came out of it ate Chuck's heart.
Later at the DEO, Brainiac-5 and Alex examine Chuck's body and discover that the creature extracted the heart with minimal damage. Brainiac-5 says that the creature underwent some kind of metamorphosis after it emerged from the ship. As he prepares a composite, Haley reports that two more heartless victims were discovered in a mansion a mile from the crash. Baker wants the news kept out of the press.
J'onn arrives at CatCo and tells Kara that Anthony Stuart, the Director of Alien Affairs, is the missing man, and he and his wife have been getting threats since Anthony helped write the Alien Amnesty Act. He suggests that Kara team up with Alex since the DEO would have an interest in Anthony's disappearance as well.
James arrives at Lena's office and gives her a photo he took of her sleeping when the two of them alone. Lena says that they should go to Paris for Valentine's weekend, and James is surprised that she's offering a spontaneous trip. She wants to live in the moment, and James agrees.
Kara and J'onn come up with Fred Roberts, a known member of the Children of Liberty who sent hate mail to Anthony. Fred was released from prison a week ago and there's no release address, and they go to check with the DEO.
Alex finds Brainiac-5 looking up Valentine's Day gifts. He asks if she'd like to help him, and Alex gives him two minutes. Brainiac-5 explains about Nia's invitation and is surprised that she's interested in him. Alex tells him to bring her a gift, and Brainiac-5 says that the two additional victims were robbed. The first victim was apparently the robber, and they figure the alien is choosing its victims and could be on food. J'onn calls Alex and asks for her help, and she directs him to Brainiac-5. Once he hangs up, Kara discovers that Fred is back in prison and has made calls to Madison Sinclair, a diamond broker. Stuart was there at her home that morning, and Kara figures that they're having an affair.
Haley visits Lena in her office and says that Baker wants to offer Lena a government contract. Baker knows that Lena is exploring ways to make humans as powerful as aliens, and the government wants Lena to help them. The news runs a story about the deaths, and Haley tells Lena that's exactly why they need her help and leaves.
The news continues to report that the CoL is growing its mobility. George is listening, dons his father's mask, and records a video saying that they should find the alien killer.
J'onn and Kara go to Sinclair's help and call to her. They find Sinclair and Stuart dead on the floor, their hearts missing. Alex and her agents break in and hold J'onn and Kara at gunpoint. They explain and Kara says that she's covered plenty of crime stories. She offers to help with the investigation and scans the place with her x-ray vision. She "accidentally" opens a hidden safe and there's alien acid on the dial. Alex calls Brainiac-5 and hears music, and he says that he's at Nia's party. Nia is out on the balcony by herself, and Yvette tells Brainiac-5 to dance. J'onn flies Kara and Alex to the party to talk to Brainiac-5.
Baker is watching news about the alien killings and the growing Lockwood protests. He figures that it's time they do something about Ben, and his assistant says that she'll bring him options.
Kara, Alex, and J'onn arrive at the party and one woman, Becca, reminds Alex that they had drinks twice. Alex finally remembers her and says that her life has been crazy, and Becca invites her to have a drink and catch up. Kara tells her to go ahead.
James meets with Lena in her car and they head for the airport.
George meets Ben in prison and Ben tells his son that he's proud of him. The boy wonders what to do next, and Ben says that people have to know that the CoL are doing it. Ben talks about finding clarity and strength in surprising places and tells George to look for the opportunity and take it.
Kara and J'onn finally locate Brainiac-5 hiding in a closet. He says that he escaped Yvette and checks the acid samples. While they wait, Kara sees Nia walking out and goes after her. Nia is in her bedroom and Kara tells her to go easy on herself and her grief. She tells Nia to think of how much her mother loved her and honor that, and Nia worries about her sister. Kara says that she hid who she was for far too long, and explains that Alex got mind-wiped to protect her. However, Kara insists that she still does good and Nia could do good as well.
Becca asks how Alex's life is doing, and Alex admits that she hasn't adopted a child yet. When Becca tells her to keep pursuing it, Alex excuses herself. Brainiac-5 reports that he found human DNA in the sample and it belongs to Pamela Ferrer, who hasn't been reported missing yet. Alex says that she and Brainiac-5 will check out Pamela's house a few blocks away, and Kara and J'onn convince her to let them tag her along.
At the house, Pamela greets them and Brainiac-5 kicks her unconscious. He figures that the snake is a symbiote and merged with Pamela. Pamela wakes up and knocks Alex down, and says that she isn't trying to fight the alien because she's more powerful than ever. She says that she's Menagerie, not Pamela, and exudes alien snakes from her body. Kara blows them away but one manages to bite her arm. They merge back into Menagerie and she escapes out the window.
As the DEO secure the apartment, they find stolen jewels and figure Pamela is a thief. Brainiac-5 goes back to the DEO to trace Pamela via her facial algorithm, while Alex says that she has to take Kara home out of concern for her injury. J'onn says that he'll take Kara home.
On their way to the airport, Lena tells James about the government offer. James warns that the government will militarize her research, and Lena wonders if he's saying the two of them getting back together is a mistake. He assures her that he still loves her but the government will abuse her discovery. Lena refuses to let James judge her for bettering humanity, and James says that her sharing her research with the government could destroy them. Lena agrees and tells James to leave. She figures that it was inevitable and James gets out.
At her apartment, Nia has a dream of Supergirl confronting Menagerie. She wakes up and Yvette tells her to clean up after the party.
At J'onn's office, Kara tells J'onn that she can't work with Alex as Kara or Supergirl. She figures that Alex's love is stopping her from doing what she wants. Kara says that she's the one holding Alex back, and when the Kryptonite bomb dropped Alex dropped everything to protect her. Now that Alex doesn't remember that Supergirl is Kara, she's free of that but Kara is holding her back. Kara will still have her sister and J'onn.
The CoL break into Pamela's apartment and find the agents dead. They search the place and Menagerie kills one of them. The other one listens as Pamela figures that with the DEO having taken her loot, she should go to the Valentine's Party ball and rebuild her fortune. One of the CoL hides and overhears Pamela talking, and calls to George that Menagerie is heading to the ball. George gets the Agent Liberty Mask and a powered machete from a locker.
At the ball, Pamela kills one man and takes his diamond watch. As she kills another man, the CoL break in and order the humans to go. As they video the entire event, the symbiote emerges from Pamela.
Brainiac-5 sees the video and tells Alex.
Yvette and Nia are watching the video on the news, and Nia gets up and goes.
Alex and her agents arrive and Alex tells the CoL to stand down. Menagerie releases snakes to attack them, and Supergirl arrives and knocks Menagerie outside. The villainess fires snakes at Supergirl, entangling her, and a costumed Nia arrives and clubs Menagerie unconscious. Supergirl tells her that she was amazing and knocks away a snake attacking her, and "Dreamer" goes inside to help Alex. Menagerie recovers and her symbiote fires venom into her eyes. Supergirl blasts her away and a masked George arrives and cuts off the symbiote. He then removes his mask, revealing his face.
Later, George gives a statement to the press saying that they protected the city by killing the monster. The CoL agents start chanting, and Haley tells Alex that Baker wants Pamela to go prison to rather than a black ops site. She says that they have to handle the aliens on their own and can't give credit to the CoL or Supergirl.
Supergirl and Dreamer ware watching from a nearby rooftop, and Dreamer says that she honored her mother by wearing her costume. She admits that she could have been killed, and Supergirl tells her that they should get to work training. Nia returns home and finds Brainiac-5 talking with Yvette. Yvette has taken the chocolates Brainiac-5 intended for Nia, and she says that she needs him to help her train.
Alex returns to Kara's apartment and apologizes for worrying over her earlier. She says that her go-to response is to protect anyone in trouble, and she has to remember to protect herself. Alex explains that she has to start trusting that people can protect themselves so she can focus on herself, and Kara reveals that she got Becca's phone number. Her foster sister says that she'll call Becca and go back to filling out the adoption forms.
In her office, Lena calls Haley and says that she's in.
The next day at the White House, Baker's assistant says that Ben can't be charged under the Patriot Act because it only protects humans. Soon, Ben is released and he greets his family. George tells him that he wasn't afraid, and Ben gives a press conference saying that the CoL's mission is to safeguard human life and he's going to continue serving the U.S.
A guard brings Pamela a letter from Manchester Black. As Pamela opens it, something moves beneath her neck where the symbiote was.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 18, 2019