05x16 - Alex in Wonderland

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Supergirl...

People use our VR to cope with trauma they experience.

Your failsafe failed.

I assure you, this glitch will be fixed.

You just rest easy, Mr. Bates.

I've got you now.

They found Dad.

He's dead.

I still can't believe it.

Of all the places for Jeremiah to hide out, the Peruvian Andes.

Yeah. It's where he found you.

Clearly, that place meant a lot to him.

He was doing humanitarian work?

In a refugee camp.

Helping displaced aliens.

After everything that Jeremiah endured, it's hard to believe he d*ed of a cardiac arrest.

It's surreal.

Hey, how are you, uh, how're you doing?

I'm sad.

It's painful to know he's really gone.

But you know what? I'm also relieved to know he was a good man that...

That brought me some peace.

That's one thing I never doubted... is that Jeremiah loved his daughters.

That's what Eliza said to me this morning.

Kara. I'm so sorry.

Thanks, Kelly. I'm so glad Alex has you.

So where is she? Are you guys ready?

I'm not going.

Uh...

And you can spare me the big accusing eyes, Kara, I'm not changing my mind.

Excuse me.

Um... Alex, I don't understand.

You were with me last night when we made the arrangements.

I never said that I was participating.

I... I know you're in pain.

I'm not in pain. Of course you are.

Okay, stop telling me how I feel.

Okay, then you tell me how you feel.

Tell me why you're refusing to go to your father's funeral.

Because I don't feel the need to bury a man who has been dead to me for years.

Jeremiah was changing his ways.

He was helping people, making amends.

Well, not to me.

He had to live in secrecy for his safety.

Right.

After leaving Cadmus, did you think he was just gonna be able to call us whenever he felt like?

I am the one who held out hope for him.

I am the one that said that he was good, and that Cadmus was forcing him to k*ll people.

And he helped you escape.

And then he disappeared. Again.

Just like that!

Alex, he's still your father.

You should be at his burial.

Look, the man that I loved hasn't been a father to me in years.

And... and, yes.

Yes, we were so close that we could just... we could finish each other's sentences.

But his obsession with keeping you safe changed all of it.

Nothing else mattered to him, the least of all me.

That is not true.

Come on, Kara.

He treated you like you were some golden girl, and of course you have love for him, and I totally respect that.

But he treated me like I wasn't even worth his time.

Okay.

So, what do you want me to tell Eliza?

I don't care. You don't care.

You don't care what I tell our grieving mother?

I have spent my entire life protecting this whole family, and I will not do it again.

She is all yours, Kelly. I'm not dealing with this.

People grieve differently, and Alex is reeling.

Okay, you guys go to Midvale, I'll talk to her.

There's still time. Call me if you need any help.

Okay, thank you.

It's a bit early for that. Don't.

Look, I get it.

You know I have had a lot of loss.

I know how you feel.

You have no idea... how I feel.

I have mourned the loss of my father multiple times.

You have no idea this stabbing pain here.

I'm losing him over and over and over again.

And I really...

I really can't tolerate being psychoanalyzed by my girlfriend right now.

I'm sorry. So rather than your apology, what I want is to be left alone.

Okay.

I will give you space.

But just know that I love you and I'm here for you unconditionally.

And when you're ready, just call.

You got it.

But now we want you to know you're in good hands.

Hope, help and compassion for all.

Call us...

Let's go punch things.

Hey, Kelly.

Will.

I heard about Kara and Alex's dad.

I'm sorry for all of you.

Thanks.

Hey, shouldn't you guys be getting on the road for the funeral about now?

Yeah, we should.

But things are complicated with her and her dad.

So she says she doesn't wanna go to Midvale today.

That's rough. Yeah, but there's still time.

So I am giving her space and hoping she changes her mind.

Which leaves me here with nothing to do but worry.

Well, if you are looking to pass the time, I could use a favor. Yeah.

In the past three weeks, Lex Luthor has rushed 32 satellites through approval by the FAA and launched them into space.

Each of their orbits placed them directly above a city that Lex himself is visiting on this Obsidian world tour.

So you're wondering what the satellites have to do with the Obsidian Platinum's launch. Mmm.

Nothing, as far as I'm aware.

Platinum operates off of booster towers.

So, whatever Lex's business is with the satellites, it has nothing to do with us.

But you're still skeptical of him?

Yeah, I worry about what Lex is doing with our platform.

And Alex is skeptical, too.

So I'm keeping an eye out for anything that might prove that Lex isn't the hero that everyone thinks.

Still, you don't think he's doing anything wrong here?

Not that I can tell.

Since Luthor Corp came aboard the only glitch involved a failsafe.

And that was a fluke.

A lone hacker, Richard Bates, exploited it for his own ends.

You don't think there's any chance this Richard was working with Lex?

What would Alex say?

That with Lex, anything is possible.

Man, this guy's really great.

Hey, Supergirl, I haven't seen you in VR before.

Treasure Hunter Tilly.

I'm a participant like you.

Oh. Oh, cool.

Most of these people are bots.

The simulation maps your brain, so it'll populate your world with things that feel familiar to you.

People you know, places you've been.

Well, they do look very, very real.

All you gotta do is check the neck.

If you see three stripes, that means they're a non-player character.

The ones without stripes, we're the realies.

Right. Well, thank you, Tilly.

Call me Bonnie.

Alex.

My sister Jill is Supergirl's biggest fan in real life.

Oh, that's great.

So are you blowing off steam playing hero, or working something out?

You know, I'm just taking a break from the real world.

Yeah, the real world sucks.

Yeah.

Jill was just diagnosed with stage four cancer and I can't even afford the flight to go see her.

I'm so sorry. That's terrible.

It is.

But in here, it's all good, right?

Even if it's just for a few hours.

So, who's this rock starman?

His real name is Derek something and he's in here all the time.

Word is his wife passed away.

If you ask me, he stays in VR way longer than is healthy.

And that's my ride.

See you around, Supergirl.

That was metal!

Thanks, Supergirl.

Sure.

It's amazing how real all this feels.

All this...

Virtual reality.

Virtual reality.

What's she talking about?

One, two, three, four!

Okay. Dragon at the fountain.

What would Kara do?

Heat vision.

Okay.

Kara makes this look so easy.

All right.

Okay.

Supergirl, how does it feel to defeat a Dracokardosian?

Uh, I'm just glad that I could help.

So what are you going to do now?

Well, does anyone know where a girl can get a bite to eat around here?

That settles it.

Uh, there's nothing that connects Lex to the failsafe hack or to the guy that did it.

But if that guy was able to hack that part of your system, who's to say Lex won't target it, too?

What is it? Did Lex do something?

No, not something he did, something we should have done and didn't.

The failsafe error I found, it wasn't patched after all.

You mean the back door's still open?

Yeah.

But that means that there's a chance other people could still be in there.

I need to find Andrea.

Kelly, what's going on?

The failsafe glitch Richard Bates exploited, it hasn't been fixed.

What? Yeah, I thought maybe it was a slip-up with the records, but I checked.

The order for the patch was put in, but the work funds haven't been released.

Look... we have to do something about this right now.

Kelly, I understand your concern, but what happened last week was because of the hacker, not a flaw in our system.

And since then, there have been no reports of anyone being affected, have there?

No.

This withholding of funds is just corporate bureaucracy with the board.

I'll handle it.

But there's nothing to alarm our users about.

You don't think our users deserve a warning that the lenses might be problematic?

All that would do is make them worry about the platform, and then they wouldn't be able to use the platform to get over their worries.

And when it comes to veterans and sufferers of mental trauma, do we really wanna stop giving them what they need?

I would never let our consumers engage in anything that would put them in jeopardy.

Still, I'll call into Gemma and get the funds released and that glitch fixed.

Okay. Thanks.

Thank you.

Well, if it isn't Supergirl. Hmm.

Hi.

These blueberry pancakes are absolutely insane.

I mean, they're just like from when I was back home.

It's, like, crispy on the outside and a little bit gooey on the inside.

Oh, my God.

Kelly could come here and eat these without dying.

Don't tell me, is Kelly one of your Super Friends?

Uh, no.

No, no, no. She's my girlfriend.

My very smart, and kind, and wonderfully supportive girlfriend who I was a complete jerk to this morning.

We all have our bad days. Hmm.

This is a little bit more than that.

I just found out that my father passed away.

He kind of treated me like I was an equal.

Especially when it came to taking care of my mother.

And definitely when it came to taking care of my sister.

And, uh, I don't know, I thought it was really cool that he would give me that kind of responsibility, but I look back at it now, and I'm... I just...

Like it is totally unfair that he put all of that on me.

I mean, my sister, she can be a handful.

So I thought if I came in here, um, I could just feel some freedom for myself.

I could fly around and I could knock things down without anybody being able to stop me.

And then I would... I would feel better.

But I don't.

I mean, not really.

'Cause, I mean, my dad's still dead.

My girlfriend, she's right.

I have a lot of things to work through.

Anyway, that was... wow.

Um...

I, uh...

I think it's about time that I go back to the real world.

What do you mean?

Uh, just that this has been a lot of fun, but I think it's time to get back to reality.

"Reality"?

Are you okay, hon?

How about another round for my favorite customers?

Works for me.

Have you heard any more about your sister?

My sister? Jill.

Okay, how long have you been in here, Bonnie?

I'm Tilly.

Treasure Hunter Tilly.

Supergirl.

J'onn?

We need you at the DEO right now.

You're in the DEO?

Supergirl, don't worry about your friend.

She's working through things.

Like you.

I'll see she gets to where she needs to go.

Keep 'em coming, Mac.

Hey, um...

Good luck with everything.

You, too.

Oh, it's just like the real DEO.

Maybe even better than the real DEO.

Supergirl. Director J'onzz.

We've just had word that a short-range ballistic m*ssile was stolen from Thompson Marine Base by unknown t*rrorists.

Paired with the right tech, an SRBM like that has the capacity to wipe out everything within a 20-mile radius.

Can we track it?

We're sweeping the city for its signature now.

This is the part where you say you'll circle the city and track these guys down.

Right, yes.

Uh, sorry, I was just...

You have no idea how good it feels to be here with you.

Supergirl, this is Hank Henshaw.

-There's only one thing alive on less than four legs that can hear this frequency.

And that's you.

Are you okay?

It's Henshaw. What?

He's speaking to me in some sort of high-pitched frequency.

My God. It is Henshaw.

As I'm sure you've discovered by now, I've stolen a m*ssile from a nearby base.

What you haven't discovered is that while the DEO is focused on my larceny, I kidnapped your sister. Kara?

Sprock! It is true. Look.

How?

The only way he could know Kara is your sister is if he found out your secret identity.

There's a nuclear warhead at the Tamaki Air Force Base south of the city.

Get it and deliver it to the abandoned warehouse on Waterfront Road within the hour.

Do it, or I'll reveal your secret identity and k*ll your sister.

Alex, I know your history with Henshaw.

Promise me you won't let feelings cloud your judgment as we bring him to justice.

I can handle it.

Where's Kara?

She's safe.

For now.

What do you want?

What do I want?

Your father... infiltrated my organization, ambushed me.

Left me for dead in the jungle.

So this is what I want!

You didn't think I'd come unprepared, did you?

You didn't think I'd bring an active warhead, did you?

I still have the m*ssile.

And I still have you.

That's enough to get the DEO back to its former glory.

By blowing it up and starting over.

And now the DEO, your sister... and everyone you love will die.

No one will be able to save them... or you.

I don't need anyone to save me.

Because I am Supergirl!

Supergirl. J'onn.

I've got Henshaw, but I don't know where...

We have Kara.

She's safe.

You should not have come back.

And now you'll never hurt my family again.

Hey. Hey.

So...

Andrea said the failsafe patch wasn't addressed because of bureaucracy with the board.

But...

Ever since Luthor Corp partnered with us...

...the board has a new member...

Lex.

So maybe he was behind it.

He could have pressured other board members to ignore the glitch so he could exploit it for his own ends.

Maybe trap people inside the VR and lock in subscribers.

Yeah, but we don't have any facts to back that up.

Well, there has to be something we can do.

This is a list of almost 500 users who have been using our VR non-stop for 48 hours or more.

No one's called about them, but...

They could still be trapped. Yeah.

How do you feel about helping me make a few hundred phone calls?

Hey.

Good job today.

Henshaw's in containment. Good.

How's Kara? Back at CatCo, finishing her article as we speak.

Oh, and she, uh, wanted me to remind you, it's your turn to pick up the dumplings tonight.

That's my sister.

I know that look.

Is something on your mind?

Yeah, I just, um...

I don't know, everything just feels so... so good.

Hmm.

But I keep having this feeling that I've forgotten something.

Kind of like the "Did I lock the front door?" kind of feeling. Hmm.

But still, I...

I know that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

I've got my team, I've got my family...

Everything, it feels...

Right?

Alex, you saved your family, the DEO, and the citizens of National City today.

That feeling you can't quite pin down... it's called happiness.

Now, come on, let's go celebrate.

Brainy's buying.

You're right.

Let's celebrate. Yeah.

♪ Feelings ♪

♪ Nothing more than feelings ♪

♪ Trying to forget my... ♪ Thank you, President Lincoln.

Hey, I'm sorry about that abomination.

If he'd read a history book, he'd know that Honest Abe belongs in the audience of the theater, not on the stage.

Do we have a John Wilkes Booth in the house?

Come on. Boo!

What? You don't think that's funny? Hmm?

Now, back to our show.

Who's next?

Ah, I see a sister Kryptonian.

To Supergirl!

Oh, silence.

Sorry, Vita, I got carried away for a sec.

Well, you're spared, but you're sent to the back of the line.

And no more Britney Spears songs if you want to live.

I'll go get the drinks. Okay.

You happy?

Never happier.

Yes, I understand.

Very sorry to bother you.

Yes.

Wow, so that's 100 phone calls to 100 users, none who are trapped.

Maybe I've taken us both down a conspiracy rabbit hole.

There any word from Alex yet? Uh, I texted, and, um, no response.

Maybe she still needs space.

You know, sometimes people need a shoulder to cry on even if they won't admit it.

You should go to her.

I'll keep on this.

Saw you looking at it, I'll keep on it.

In fact, I have a contact at the NSA who might be able to help us speed things up.

You go be with the woman you love.

Thank you.

Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite customer.

Want a drink on the house, Supergirl?

Why not?

Well, if it isn't my favorite customer.

Want a round on the house, Supergirl?

Heck, yeah.

Hey.

Supergirl.

Hi. That's a... That's a really great costume.

Black.

Now that is cool.

Um... Sorry, what are you talking about?

Oh, I love this place.

They just never make the drinks cold enough, though.

That... How did you...

I've come here to escape reality.

Not have subpar drinks.

This... This isn't real?

What, you think all these drinks would be on the house?

Are you okay?

This is impossible.

You look like you are bugging out.

I'll just get someone.

Supergirl. Are you all right?

How can there be two Supergirls?

Perhaps it's the result from Kryptonite poisoning.

Should we head to the DEO?

Perhaps we should go back to the medbay.

No, this isn't real.

I have to get out of here.

I have to go.

That was weird.

Alex. Are you okay?

Alex? J'onn?

Psi just launched a psychic att*ck on National City.

She's making everybody doubt their reality.

Don't tell me she got to you, too.

We need you here. No, I'm all right.

And I'm on my way.

Hello?

Alex?

What's wrong with your lenses?

You wanna come out? Hey.

Okay, babe.

It's time to wake up.

Don't worry.

I'm coming in to get you.

Well, I guess some villains are all thought and no action.

Alex. Kelly.

Are you all right? Yeah, I'm fine.

I just... I didn't know if you had tried to get out, but your failsafe isn't working.

What?

The glitch that Richard Bates hacked, it wasn't fixed.

Um, and I think you might have been affected.

I can't eject you, so I need you to wake yourself up and end your simulation, and then I'll tell you everything.

End... end my simulation? I...

You need to exit your virtual reality.

I can't do it for you. You have to do it for yourself.

Oh, my God.

Psi must have gotten to her, too.

What? No.

I'll make sure she gets to the medbay.

I don't need to go to the medbay.

You have to end this. This isn't real. You know that.

A-ha! She was assaulted by Psi.

That never happened.

Hey, Alex, can't you see that this virtual reality is just giving you what you want?

Supergirl.

There's a theft in progress at National City Bank.

NCPD is on their way, but they won't make it in time.

Kelly, I have to handle this.

You go with J'onn and Brainy to the medbay.

They'll take care of you, I promise.

Let's go.

End simulation.

Okay, slow down, Kelly.

Are you sure that this is a failsafe malfunction?

I don't know. That is why I called you.

Alex's lenses are practically red.

And she's not responding to any of my methods of ejection.

I tried adrenaline, but it was like she didn't even feel it.

What about going into the VR for direct contact?

Yeah, I tried that, too, and there was no sign of a failsafe button.

She wouldn't even listen to me.

Before she went in, she was grieving.

I don't know, maybe because of her emotional state, she was more susceptible to our AI and had a mild psychotic break.

I've seen this with some of my patients, but still...

I'm still able to bring them out.

Okay, Kelly, look. We need to think this through.

It was like she was lost in there.

Then we need a way to shock her out.

We need to show Alex that she is not in the real world by confronting her with something that's unexplainable, but also absolutely undeniable.

Something like Alex herself.

I hope this works.

Thanks, Supergirl.

These guys sure chose the wrong bank to rob.

Speaking of bad choices, there's still time enough for you to turn your life around, young lady.

Hi, Alex.

How do you know my real name?

Because I'm you.

You can feel it.

How?

I've been sent to show you something that you need to see.

Please.

Please listen to her.

What do I need to see? That none of this is real.

Yes, it is. Of course it is.

Supergirl, is everything okay?

Come with me, and I'll show you the truth you've been avoiding.

Come on, Supergirl, the NCPD can take it from here.

Supergirl, let us help you.

Or are you afraid of facing reality?

I remember this place.

That...

That b*mb, I planted that b*mb.

This is the Cadmus facility where I last saw Dad.

Is that... Jeremiah.

We didn't face him before, but we need to now.

Maybe now he can explain why he never came back.

Hey!

Supergirl, get away from her!

She's a shape-shifter.

No. Come on. I know another way.

Okay.

There he is.

Dad?

This is what you needed to see.

The truth in the real world.

The real world?

The real world where we're not Supergirl.

And where even if we were, nothing that we could have done would have saved him.

We always hoped that he'd come back to us.

And if he didn't, we hoped that someday we'd find him.

That's why you took on the role of Supergirl.

She stands for hope.

But now that Dad's dead, we know that there's no chance of that ever happening.

And even if we were Supergirl and we did find him, it wouldn't change anything.

His life was a result of his choices.

Not ours.

But it's gonna be okay.

Because in the real world, we still have people who love us and who wanna help us make the changes we can.

Unlike here, where everyone is trying to lock us in.

Don't listen to her, Supergirl.

You're leaving us no choice.

Hey.

Alex.

Get away from her, please.

She's dangerous.

Don't let her put crazy thoughts in your head.

She's not... This is your home.

We are your family.

You belong with us, not with her.

That thing needs to be destroyed.

If you can't... we will.

Not in my reality.

Hey.

End simulation.

Wait, no, no, no. Hang on. Hang on.

How do I know if I'm not in the VR still?

Because we had a fight this morning that was never resolved.

Because your dad is gone for good, and you're sad.

But it's gonna be okay.

I know.

Yeah, I know that now.

I love you.

Thank you for not giving up on me.

I would never.

I'm so sorry.

I was such a jerk.

And I pushed...

J'onn and Kara and you away.

You know, I've been so angry at my dad for so long, for abandoning Kara and I, for never reaching out, you know?

But as hurt as I've been, I just... I kept thinking that he would come back into our lives someday.

And then, you know, I get the news about his death, and I just...

I just got so mad at everyone.

But the reality...

is that I was just mad at myself.

'Cause I couldn't save him.

And so I...

I felt...

I felt hopeless.

You are not hopeless.

You are a warrior.

What's wrong?

I think there's a lot more going on in the VR than we know about.

Because I don't think I was the only one that was lost in there.

There... There was a woman named, uh, Bonnie, and there was a guy, Derek.

And... and I think they were stuck in there, too.

And if there was three of us... then there could be a lot more.

Um...

Okay, I... I... I'm on it.

Um, but first, we need to get you to Midvale.

Okay?

Yeah.

Yeah, we do.

Lex Luthor arrived in Madrid today to a sellout crowd to discuss Obsidian North's new Platinum...

Cocky bastard.

Pre-orders are so high, the phone lines have currently shut down.

People are hailing Lex Luthor as the innovator of the millennium. _

Nice work, Arnie. _

Promininant tech giants are leaping onto the VR scene, each driving forward new and upcoming product lines. _

However, nothing will come close to Platinum VR. _

If you think you kind of understand what's going on in tech today... _

Thank you, Kelly. I'm glad that Alex was okay.

Yes. Bye.

You've reached Gemma Cooper's office.

Miss Cooper is not available right now. But if you leave your name...

I need a full diagnostic write-up on the failsafe error code.

And I want a patch worked up immediately.

Nothing else moves forward until this is done.

Do you understand? Yes, Miss Rojas.

Lex Luthor.

What are you up to?

Jeremiah was a loving and caring man.

It's what made him a great partner, a great friend and... a great father.

He was brave and compassionate.

He knew just what to say to make your life brighter, how to pick you up when you were feeling down.

In spite of all the twists and turns that Jeremiah's life took, the kindness, compassion and love... that was real.

I'm sorry for all the things that I said.

It doesn't matter.

You're here now.