Don't Date Your Nemesis... and other helpful hints for the modern Supergirl

Hint 5. If You Have the Chance, Be the Hero

I'm sitting at my desk when it happens. I've been back for just a day and, until this moment, being grounded had been more-or-less bearable.

There's a large television mounted on the wall at the end of the station and, from my desk, I can see it perfectly. This means that when Alex jumps to his feet, running over to turn the volume off mute, I'm one of the only ones that doesn't have to leave my seat to crowd around the free space underneath.

"Stop just watching it," Ripley roars, exploding from his office, and I tear my gaze away from the screen to watch him instead. "Get on the radio! Who do we have in the area?"

"It's already done, sir," one of the girls that mans the phone lines replies, "Dawson's team's on their way."

Ripley growls, in frustration or anger I don't know. I stop watching him, calmly returning my gaze to the television. Usually I'd be apoplectic by now, barely able to keep myself materialised in the same position for more than a second, but this time I'm strangely calm. Last time I gave in to the temptation I got shot and, worse, utterly humiliated. It would appear that Jack Docklen, ironically, has taught me the need for protocol.

Besides, Ripley's been around for a long time, he's too clever. It might seem as though the events unfolding on the television have his whole attention but I know he's keeping at least half an eye on my movements. This is turning into a test and I'll be damned if I get myself suspended properly.

The tv screen shows the back of a large van, its doors jimmied wide open. Two figures move around in the dark shadow inside. It's impossible to read anything about them because the cameraman's too far away to make them out clearly. I start doing the maths in my head. How much money do they transport between banks in those vans?

And then the camera moves, panning round from the back of the van to take in the logo on the side and my heart drops through my stomach. I recognise that logo. That's a van from The Facility. They're not stealing cash. They're stealing serum.

There's a whole underground ring dedicated to the (currently unsuccessful) synthesis of Sapient+ serum but no one's ever managed to steal it before. There's very little point in even trying. It's not a case of a simple injection and bam, superpowers. The serum requires a whole set of secret activation sequences. Painful sequences that require expensive equipment and medical experience. I should know, I screamed my way through every single second of them. It was the most horrific thing that ever happened to me.

The fact that someone has risked the security of one of The Facility's armoured vehicles to steal something that was previously considered useless is a terrifying omen.

A pair of hands thump down on the back of my chair. I know who they belong to without turning.

"Kurtis..." Docklen begins.

Of course he came straight to me. There's no way he could get halfway across the city in time and if he can't make it there in time, how can Jack Docklen bask in all the glory?

"No way," I say. I can see Ripley watching me.

Docklen sighs, hands tightening on the back of my chair. I make a conceited effort to catch Ripley's eye, to not look at Docklen. That calm I felt before is fading fast. I could stop this, I have the power to stop this. The figures on the tv are now casually tossing crates out the back of the van, onto the street, and there's no sign of Dawson or his team.

"Look." Without warning, Docklen pulls my chair out from under the desk, spinning it around until I face him. I yelp in surprise but he ignores it, crouching down so that our faces are on a level, and fixes me with an intense stare, his crystal blue eyes boring into my own.