Chapter 4: Stronger Together, Wiser Friend
The week following Vartox's defeat was a whirlwind of public opinion. National City, it seemed, loved their new hero, but they also loved to dissect her every move. The media, led by the ever-incisive Cat Grant, was a relentless machine, churning out headlines that swung wildly between praise and criticism. Adam watched Kara navigate this new landscape with a mixture of admiration and concern. He knew the pressure she was under, the weight of a city's expectations, and the lingering shadow of her famous cousin.
Kara was struggling. He could see it in the way she hunched over her desk, the slight tremor in her hands when she poured coffee, the distant look in her eyes when Cat delivered another one of her cutting remarks. The arrival of Reactron, a villain specifically designed to counter Superman, only amplified her self-doubt. The news reports were grim, showing Supergirl barely holding her own against the energy-absorbing menace.
Adam knew what she needed. Not a lecture, not a grand gesture, just a quiet nudge. He found an old scientific journal in the CatCo archives (conveniently, his meta-knowledge had pointed him to it) with an article about advanced energy absorption and the theoretical concept of overload feedback loops. He "accidentally" left it on Kara's desk, open to the relevant page, buried under a stack of memos.
Later, he approached Winn, who was practically vibrating with frustration. "This Reactron guy is a nightmare!" Winn exclaimed, gesturing at his screens, which showed Reactron's energy signature fluctuating wildly. "He just keeps absorbing everything! It's like trying to fight a black hole with a flashlight!"
"Yeah, I saw the news," Adam said, leaning against the cubicle. He took a bite of a questionable office donut. "Seems like he's got a real appetite for power. But you know, sometimes when something absorbs too much, it gets… indigestion. Or, you know, explodes." He chewed thoughtfully. "Like, if you hit a power core with too much energy, or the wrong kind of energy, it could destabilize, right? Cause a feedback loop? I remember reading about it in some old sci-fi novel. Total fiction, of course, but the physics were surprisingly plausible."
Winn's eyes, already wide with stress, widened further. "A feedback loop? But he's absorbing everything! How do you overload something that just… takes it all?"
"Well, that's the trick, isn't it?" Adam said, shrugging. "It's not about hitting him with more power, it's about hitting him with something he can't absorb. Or, if he's absorbing everything, maybe there's a limit. Every system has a breaking point. Even a supervillain's power core. You just need to find the right frequency, the right… push." He made a pushing motion with his hand. "Like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, but the hole is also a black hole, and the peg is made of pure energy. Good luck with that, though. I'm just the guy who makes coffee."
Winn stared at him for a long moment, then slowly, a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. "The wrong kind of energy… a limit… a breaking point…" He started muttering, then typing, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "Adam, you're a genius! Or insane. Probably both!"
Adam just smiled, finishing his donut. "You're welcome, Winn. Now go save the world, or at least help Kara do it."
Later that day, Kara found him in the breakroom, nursing a cup of tea. She looked less stressed, a faint flush of success on her cheeks. "Hey," she said, her voice softer than usual. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," Adam replied, gesturing to the chair opposite him. "As long as it's not about my questionable fashion choices, I'm all ears."
Kara chuckled, taking a seat. "No, it's… about Reactron. We beat him. Winn figured out a way to overload his power core, create a feedback loop. He said he got the idea from something he was working on, but it sounded… familiar." She looked at him pointedly. "Like something you might have 'accidentally' mentioned."
Adam raised an innocent eyebrow. "Me? I just told him about a sci-fi novel. For all I know, he's been reading my Goodreads reviews. I'm just a simple administrative assistant trying to make sense of Cat Grant's filing system, which, by the way, is more complex than a quantum physics textbook."
Kara smiled, a genuine, warm smile that reached her eyes. "Right. Well, whatever it was, it helped. And… thanks for the article." She gestured vaguely to her desk. "About energy absorption. It was… surprisingly relevant."
"Just a coincidence, I'm sure," Adam said, shrugging. "I'm a big believer in serendipity. And well-placed reading material." He paused, then looked at her, his voice dropping slightly. "But seriously, Kara. You did good out there. Don't let the headlines, or anyone, make you doubt yourself. You're strong. Stronger than you think. And you're doing something incredible. The city needs you. And… you know, it's okay to struggle sometimes. Even heroes have bad days. It's how you get back up that counts."
Kara looked at him, her expression soft, a hint of vulnerability in her eyes. "He sees it," she thought. "He sees the doubt, the fear. And he's not judging." His words, simple and direct, resonated with her more than any pep talk from Alex or J'onn. He wasn't telling her what she should be, but acknowledging what she was feeling.
"Thanks, Adam," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I… I needed to hear that."
Adam just offered a small, comforting smile. "Anytime, Kara. That's what friends are for. And if you ever need a distraction from the existential dread of saving the world, I'm always available for a debate on the superior Star Wars trilogy."
Kara laughed, a genuine, unburdened sound. "I'll keep that in mind. Though, I think we both know the answer to that."
As she walked away, a little lighter, a little more confident, Adam felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. His influence was subtle, almost imperceptible, but it was there. He was helping. And that, in itself, was a pretty good feeling.
He glanced over at Winn's desk. The "Vartox Fan Club" sticky note was still there. Adam then subtly, with a few quick clicks on his own computer, replaced Winn's desktop background with a ludicrous meme of a cat wearing a tinfoil hat, glaring suspiciously at a plate of spaghetti. "Just a little something to keep things interesting," he thought. "Can't have him getting too serious, now, can we?"