#even started to consider krypton his true home | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cyclone-rachel · 1 year

Text

Tomorrowverse Karadox playlist analysis part 1:

C’mon (Panic at the Disco feat. Fun.):

What would my head be like

If not for my shoulders

Or without your smile

May it follow you forever

May it never leave you

To sleep in the stone,

May we stay lost on our way home

C'mon, c'mon, with everything falling down around me

I'd like to believe in all the possibilities

If I should die tonight

May I first just say I'm sorry?

For I never felt like anybody

I am a man of many hats

Although I never mastered anything

I like to consider this a classic Karadox song, thanks to an AMV that used this one with Melissa and Jesse’s versions of Kara and Brainy, and thankfully it fits Tomorrowverse Karadox really well too! Especially this part, I like to think it’s the tense part of the movie where Brainy is accused of being like the rest of his family and he apologizes to Kara and tells her how he really feels about her, as Mon-El reveals himself to be evil and it looks like the Brainiacs are going to take control of the Miracle Machine. I just love this song in general, and it’s always a Karadox song for me.

Salt and Vinegar (Lights):

But there I go again lighting you up

I keep filling my cup

You'd think I'd had enough

There you go again bringing me down

But still I stick around

I kinda like it now

You're angry, I'm bitter

You and me make a dangerous mixture

Summoned the devil now we can't get rid of her

We go together like salt and vinegar

So this is a song I’ve started listening to more recently, I first heard it in a Tiktok and I think it would work well for any enemies to lovers style relationship. But it really does fit early Karadox here, when they’re competing against each other and going back and forth on everything, and you kind of get the vibe that they enjoy the fighting and the rivalry.

In Space (Ludo):

Counting moon rocks for the cause, just me in a little pod

I can't wait for gravity to bring you close to me

I hope this message finds you and you won't feel so alone

Even if I never make it home

In space (the tiles are burning, all the time we had)

All I think about is you and me (goes rushing past my window view.)

And atmosphere

In space (through the flames, I keep a steady hand)

Your picture's all I look at, my place (my eyes are clear, my aim is true.)

Is with you below, watching leaves change in the yard

Dreaming of the stars

I can't wait for gravity to bring me home

Oh man this is 100 percent the last part of the movie, where Kara is confronted with the Miracle Machine, and she talks to her mother for a minute before she and Brainy send the machine to another universe and she turns around and sees the real Brainy standing behind her. Also of course the mention of the pod, Krypton exploding and Kara being sent off alone vibes, etc.

Sucker (Jonas Brothers):

I'm a sucker for you

You say the word and I'll go anywhere blindly

I'm a sucker for you, yeah

Any road you take, you know that you'll find me

I'm a sucker for all the subliminal things

No one knows about you (About you), about you (About you)

And you're makin' the typical me break my typical rules

It's true, I'm a sucker for you, yeah

So I did see someone made an AMV that included this version of Kara and Brainy with this song, and I think it works! I think in any universe, Brainy falls for Kara, and that’s just true facts.

Love From the Other Side (Fall Out Boy):

This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me

Loose

Like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit

I'd never go, I just want to be invited

Got to give up

Get the feeling

Don't fight it

Fight it

Sending my love from the other side of the apocalypse

And I just about snapped, don't look back

Every lover's got a little dagger in their hand

Another song I’ve really enjoyed recently, I just think it kind of has Brainy vibes? Like generally fits his perspective and how he feels about himself. This is more about vibes than anything, but again the “apocalypse” part suits the end of the movie, and the “every lover” line works for this version of Kara and Brainy.

Blow Your Mind (Dua Lipa):

If you don't like the way I talk, then why am I on your mind?

If you don't like the way I rock, then finish your glass of wine

We fight and we argue, you'll still love me blind

If we don't fuck this whole thing up

Guaranteed, I can blow your mind

Mwah!

And tonight I'm alive, ain't no dollar sign

Guaranteed, I can blow your mind, mwah

And tonight I'm alive, ain't no dollar sign

Guaranteed, I can blow your mind, mwah

This one is definitely Kara’s point of view for me, again I heard this one in a Tiktok and I think it fits for her perspective in the earlier parts of the movie and how she wants to prove herself to Brainy and do better at him than everything, and them being antagonistic towards each other.

Might Not Like Me (Brynn Elliott):

Get over yourself, it's no big deal

If I run a little faster than you on the playground

Get over yourself, what's your problem

What's your problem?

Well if you don't like girls that are stronger than you

And if you don't like girls that are faster than you

And if you don't like girls that are smarter than you

Well then you might not like me

You might not like me

So this one doesn’t quite fit because it’s more of a break-up song, but I do think it’s the vibe again with Kara and Brainy at the beginning, from Kara’s perspective and how she would think about/talk to Brainy.

Parachute (Kirby Krackle):

A long night, a cold sweat

You were the one. I didn't know it yet

A simple love, the only thing we want

The only thing, the thing we'll never get

I was missing beats, and you were like a tempo discovered

Running towards the blast when I was needing fix and repair

You said

I'll be your parachute

So let your heart go

When you see ground rushing up at you

And when your feet touch down

That's when your heart knows

I'll always be there catching you

Another classic Karadox song that I also associate with Melissa and Jesse’s versions of Kara and Brainy, this one definitely fits the middle to end parts of the movie when Brainy is accused of murdering one of Triplicate Girl’s selves and Kara defends him/tells him that she believes him when everyone else thinks he’s lying, and from then on they start to really support one another and it’s just the best. I love this song and it’s pitch-perfect Karadox, bye.

Scapegoat (Ghost and Pals):

Now do you hate me?

Are you afraid of me?

Are you able to feel culpability?

Come forth and kill me

Bow down and worship me

Take your time, all we have is eternity

Now with a new start

Broken and torn apart

Nothing in me resembles a human heart

My name is unknown

Something I've never told

On my own, I declare

"I don't wanna go home"

Another song I’ve listened to a lot recently, I just think it’s a bop and that it could fit Brainy a lot in this movie, again when people see him as a villain because they think he’s like his family.

Afterglow (Taylor Swift):

I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue

Put you in jail for something you didn't do

I pinned your hands behind your back, oh

Thought I had reason to attack, but no

Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves

Chemistry 'til it blows up, 'til there's no us

Why'd I have to break what I love so much?

It's on your face, and I'm to blame, I need to say

Hey, it's all me, in my head

I'm the one who burned us down

But it's not what I meant

Sorry that I hurt you

I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you (Ooh)

I don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you (Ooh)

I need to say, hey, it's all me, just don't go

Meet me in the afterglow

Okay, so this one was suggested by my friend Rosie, and it’s actually so perfect? Like I’m more of a casual Swiftie than anything, I do like several of her songs, but haven’t listened to all of her albums all the way through. However, this one fits so exactly well from Kara’s point of view, and her perspective on Brainy when he gets blamed for something he didn’t do, and maybe her realizing how she really feels about him in the process.

Hit Like a Girl (Meet Me @ the Altar)

I'm tough

I'll save the world and won't even break a sweat

No bluff

I'm witty, yeah I know how to use my head

Said I'm too loud

I should sit down

No, I've got a lot to say

So what

I'm rowdy, yeah I hit like a girl

Hit like a girl!

Got things to do

I'm making moves

And so are you, I know it

You got it girl

This is your world

I'll be right there supporting

Count on me

I'll count on you to be my solace

Just take my hand

Now is the chance

Now is our chance

This one was in one of my friend Brandi’s Tiktoks, and it’s another really good Kara song! Especially at the beginning of the movie, before she goes to the future to train with the Legion, and leading into her relationship with Brainy and how they support each other.

Stay With Me (Better Love):

You shine like the sun

And I want to go blind

You ring in my head

Like a song I can't forget

If you're thinking of me then let me know

I can think of a thousand different places we should go

Oh, I know I just met you

But you're clouding all my dreams

Go on and set me free

I wanna see you tomorrow

Are you thinking of me?

Again, from one of Brandi’s Tiktoks, this one strikes me as another “Brainy falls for Kara instantly” kind of song, with her coming in and disrupting all of his plans and everything, and maybe that’s okay. I always love when I find songs with sun imagery to connect to Kara because Kryptonians are powered by the sun/Rao/etc., it just works perfectly. Also I like that the word “tomorrow” is in this song because this movie is a part of the Tomorrowverse, y’know.

When I Kissed the Teacher (ABBA):

Leaning over me,

He was trying to explain

The laws of geometry

And I couldn't help it,

I just had to kiss the teacher

One of these days

Gonna tell him I dream of him every night

One of these days

Gonna show him I care,

Gonna teach him a lesson alright

Another song suggested by Brandi and I think one that came from their Tiktok, I just like to imagine Brainy and Kara after they get together actually kissing in front of the Legion and them partially expecting it but also having no idea what to think because they were just at each other’s throats. Also this does fit that montage towards the beginning of the movie where they were competing, and Kara wanting to “teach him a lesson” in that sense.

Lay All Your Love On Me (ABBA)

'Cause everything is new

And everything is you

And all I've learned

Has overturned

What can I do?

Don't go wasting your emotion

Lay all your love on me

Don't go sharing your devotion

Lay all your love on me

Another song from Brainy’s perspective and another from Brandi, I think that it’s really fun how quickly Kara and Brainy fall for each other and especially how Kara changes Brainy’s perspective and he’s thrown off by it, but accepts it and accepts her, and she accepts him right back.

Kiss With a Fist (Florence + the Machine)

Broke your jaw once before

I spilt your blood upon the floor

You broke my leg in return

So let's sit back and watch the bed burn

Blood sticks sweat drips

Break the lock if it don't fit

A kick in the teeth is good for some

A kiss with a fist is better than none

Whoa a kiss with a fist is better than none

I think this one is the quintessential “enemies to lovers”/ “people in a relationship who always fight” song and again it doesn’t quite fit because it depicts them as already being in a relationship when they are fighting, but I do like it as a song and I think it does kind of work for the beginning of the movie, even if it fits very loosely and it’s more vibes than anything else.

A New Brain- I Fight Dragons

They tell her you've got a destiny, somebody you're supposed to be

Far from this small town there's answers waiting to be found

So she lies awake thinking there's been some mistake

Crying her eyes out, begging for help, she's shouting

I want a new brain, I want a new heart

I'm sick of feeling, failing, and falling apart

I want the courage to make a new start

Time after time I flip from fine to failing and falling apart

Another song I absolutely love (my top song of 2020 on Spotify, I think) and I’d say it definitely fits Kara, with her struggling to find her place after Krypton is destroyed and she wakes up on Earth, and her perspective early on, up until Clark shows her the time bubble and tells her about the Legion. And of course we know she does make a new start, and does find her place among people who accept her and make her feel like she belongs. It’s just a really nice thematic song for her, and of course the mention of Kansas and the Wizard of Oz references fit with Kansas being where Clark was found and the Wizard of Oz being Kara’s favorite movie in at least the TV show.

I Won’t Say (I’m in Love) (from Hercules):

If there's a prize for rotten judgement

I guess I've already won that

No man is worth the aggravation

That's ancient history, been there, done that!

Who'd ya think you're kiddin'

He's the earth and heaven to you

Try to keep it hidden

Honey, we can see right through you

Girl, ya can't conceal it

We know how ya feel and

Who you're thinking of

I think it would have been very fun/cute if we had gotten more scenes like the one towards the end of the movie where Kara and Brainy are found by some of the other Legion academy members, and they point out how much they’re flirting with each other, but this definitely fits that kind of scene and Kara starting to realize how she feels about Brainy even though he does frustrate her and of course he’s a Brainiac and she doesn’t trust him on instinct.

What Is This Feeling? (from Wicked):

What is this feeling?

Fervid as a flame

Does it have a name?

Yes

Loathing

Unadulterated loathing

For your face

Your voice

Your clothing

Let's just say - I loathe it all

Every little trait however small

Makes my very flesh begin to crawl

With simple utter loathing

There's a strange exhilaration

In such total detestation

It's so pure, so strong

Though I do admit it came on fast

Still I do believe that it can last

And I will be loathing, loathing you

My whole life long

Dear Galinda, you are just too good

How do you stand it? I don't think I could

She's a terror! She's a tartar

We don't mean to show a bias

But Galinda you're a martyr

Well, these things are sent to try us

Poor Galinda forced to reside

With someone so disgusting-I-fied

We just want to tell you

We're all on your side

So this is another song I love, and there’s another song from this musical that I memorized the lyrics to as far back as 2017, but I hadn’t listened to it in a while but this song fits freakishly well for Karadox in this movie? Like, obviously, Kara distrusting Brainy because of his Brainiac connection, and him hating her right back, but also I think of the moment where Dawnstar tells Kara outright that nobody wants Brainy around, and the part where the senior Legion members discuss him at some point and say that they don’t trust him either. Kara and Brainy aren’t actually roommates here, and the beginning of the song where it’s spoken doesn’t really fit, but everything else does and I love it.

Peace and Love on the Planet Earth (from Steven Universe):

What is the point?

You're not making anything

Well, if it isn't anything then why does it sound so good?

I suppose it's just interest

Do-mi-so-do

Devoid of substance or purpose, a hypothetical pattern...

Do-mi-so-ti

For the satisfaction of bringing it to completion

Sure

Do-mi-so-ti

Interest without meaning

Solutions without problems

I guess we're already here

I guess we already know

We've all got something to fear

We've all got nowhere to go

I think you're all insane!

But I guess I am too

Anybody would be

If they were stuck on Earth with you!

Life and death and love and birth and

Peace and war on the planet Earth

Is there anything that's worth more

Than peace and love on the planet Earth

Listen, I just think that Brainy has Peridot vibes in general, and for this movie in particular he’s pre-redemption/during redemption Peridot, when she’s just getting used to being around Steven and the Gems, and I don’t think either Brainy or Kara is necessarily stuck on Earth, but that’s kind of the vibe with Kara not being able to go back to Krypton and Brainy probably not being treated great on Colu given his heritage. And of course, for both Peridot and Brainy, we know the climaxes of their emotional journeys, and both are great moments of catharsis. Also again I just love this song.

#long post #papa don’t look #rachel talks about stuff #karadox #tomorrowverse #legion of superheroes #legion of super heroes #playlist

7 notes · View notes

honeybunhalo · 3 years

Text

Kara/Lena adopt Superboy AU Notes (Part 1)

I’m finally delivering on the content for this Supercorp AU

This is a Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor and Superboy (Kon-El) centric story. Specifically focused on exploration of one's identity and how you define yourself with the many aspects of your life and choices you made as well as what you consider important and precious to you. The effects of being constrained by how you were born and finding those who love you for who you are and don't ask you to change the core of your being to fit in. — this is not an action packed story at all.

Here are some of the ideas I have for this or things I thought Kon had in common with Lena and Kara that I find compelling.

Lena concepts:

Lena gets to know another Luthor, her biological nephew, who isn’t a trash person and is someone to not just for her to protect but who’s existence assures her that it isn’t blood that makes someone bad and maybe she isn’t so different from other people and she’s not “irredeemable”. Sometimes he reminds her of her older brother when he was kind to her growing up. Likewise, everyone usually sees the Lex in Kon as an inherently bad thing and thus he learns to hide it and hate himself for it. Lena presents an alternate because she remembers bittersweetly a simpler time when she looked up to her brother. Not everyone sees the Luthor genes in him as a threat, Lena finds it comforting to be able to help someone like her in a way she was never helped as a young girl.

Lena thinks she can’t interact with kids well, much less the kid Lex had grown in a lab, but she totally warms up to him and can talk to him about familial rejection (via Clark) and if it’s because he’s a Luthor and if that makes him wrong. Is it because he’s artificial? Is it because he’s some strange illegitimate lab child? Smothering this kid with love and protection.

Plus Kon is like Kara in more than just being kryptonian but also in dorkiness. Lena’s life is just trying to wrangle an overpowered golden retriever and her lab puppy. She can’t stay mad at them for long.

Lena finding she is capable of loving and being loved and being with Kara makes it harder to ignore the crush she has on Kara. They talk together about love and acceptance now they have a shared kid they don’t want to hide personal things from that could later hurt him and many things become open secrets in their now shared house. Soon enough, it becomes obvious she needs to be truthful with Kara about her own feelings for her.

Lena could learn about the difficulties of hiding being an alien that Kara had to deal with and the onslaught and exhaustion of developing powers in young kryptonians. She gets to see first hand what it does to a child and wonders how that must have affected Kara’s emotional development and sense of self.

Lillian and Lex won’t get anywhere near this kid if Lena has something to say about it. Lena knows what it’s like to be the odd one out in a family and for people to reject you for simply existing from other people's sins

Kara concepts:

Kara recounts how she felt like a failure waking up on earth to find out Kal had grown up without her. Now she can maybe make peace with that by taking in Kon even if everything that motivates her choices with him is primarily for kons sake.

Kara can share with another person krypton's history and culture which is something she’s had to keep seperate from her primary identity for years now *cough* it’s almost like she’s an immigrant who has to hide her identity and culture to be accepted and you could use that in the story *cough*

Kon lived through being created as a lab rat and the only living experiment left. Kara could sympathize with his own grief from her experience with survivors’ guilt.

Being open with Kon so that he doesn’t feel that same overwhelming pressure when she was told to hide with a human family also gives room for Lena to learn more about the world Kara came from beyond what she knows from interviews from Superman. Having Kara speak openly about her life on Krypton is much more personal and feels much more real than any article could do.

Teaching Kon how best to control his powers and her and Lena being able to have the resources for him to do so safely

Alex is very alarmed by the new addition to the family, mostly because how shitty Clark was in relation to the kid. From her perspective, this is not the first time the guy has dumped an unwanted kryptonian child on someone else’s doorstep. Whatever, she gets to buy leather jackets for her new nephew and be scary overprotective of him. “I don’t care if you think you’re nearly invulnerable at your age, do you have ANY IDEA what type of trouble your mother got us into when we were growing up? Or even when she just started hero work?”

Conner Kon-Cepts:

His sort-of-aunts can be his adoptive moms and be much better to him than his biological dads ever were to him in the comic canon. Kon actually being allowed to be close to other Superman family members!!! I need it like the air I breathe. Kon could get to know a Luthor that isn’t trying to hurt him or use him. Someone who defies part of why (Kon thinks) Superman could never accept a thing like him.

(I have too many things to say to put in a brief bullet point just know that he’s my fav little boy and I think that he deserves parents who would love him unconditionally and Lena and Kara deserve to live a slower life where they can be cute and domestic)

(If he’s raised by these two then I can give a solid reason as to why we just ignore all the blatant misogynistic and horny writing from the 90s comics that made me really uncomfortable and didn’t completely fit with his given backstory especially with how over the top the specialization was. It helps make up for that)

Kon has to deal with being constantly compared to his two genetic fathers mirroring how Kara and Lena both are constantly being compared to Superman and Lex Luthor as they are the female counterparts of those two more infamous members in their respective families

Kara and Kon have very complementary stories and could become what the other needs to fill a hole in each of their hearts. Canon is way too personally tragic. I’d rather have a bittersweet world that’s also soft so I can spend more time with slow paced character analysis.

(In the beginning, Kon’s much more timid given he’s still so young and is coping with being rejected by superman. The tone at the beginning of the story is very serious. As the story unfolds, kon will loosen up to be goofier like his comic counterparts personality)

Both Clark and Lex don’t deserve this kid in any way. If all they are gonna do is mistreat or neglect him in their own ways, Kon is better off with his aunts.

Conclusion:

Kara and Lena can be happy together by fully trusting themselves with each other in domestic bliss for once AND Kon doesn’t have to cry his eyes out knowing he’s an unwanted experiment child who is “undeserving” of family and home who never got to experience childhood

Everyone who's always saying “you can’t trust a Luthor” better shut their trap when Kara walks in with Kon-El Luthor, her newly adopted son, and her fiancé, Lena Luthor. These new moms will tear you apart if you try to instill that internal hatred of being a Luthor in their son’s young mind.

Kara and Lena both defying what people say about them and instead raising a well adjusted boy from both their warring families.

Kon is gonna be raised by a true power couple.

DC refuses to deliver on giving this boy a home or parents so I’m gonna do it instead. Just look at the family they could be together:

(FYI: This has nothing to do with the version of Superboy in the Young Justice cartoon TV show, so if you’re only familiar with that you may be a bit confused about this Superboy who that one was loosely based on. This whole punk fitted kid is indeed a real character and I stay pretty close to his original design from 1993.)

#Supercorp #Supergirl #Kara Danvers #Lena Luthor #Conner Kent #Superboy #Kon-El #Kara Zor-El #my art #my au #Supercorp + Kon AU #Supercorp and Superboy AU #long post #Feel free to comment or tag because I love reading peoples reactions/ideas about this #i just have a lot of feelings about this

164 notes · View notes

bigfan-fanfic · 5 years

Text

Love and Logic (Male!Reader x Brainiac 5)

Requested by @acoustickitten for Kara and Alex’s adoptive brother, an empath and “lovable cinnamon roll” shipped with Brainiac 5

Note: I haven’t yet watched the latest season of Supergirl, so bear with me if my characterization is a touch out of date. Also, I focused more on the relationship with Kara and Alex - sorry!

You like working with your sisters.

No - you love working with them.

You see, you have empathetic powers, which means that you can feel the emotions of people in your immediate vicinity

Sometimes, it’s really scary, because how can you know what’s you and what is someone else? And also, people can feel really horrible when you aren’t expecting it.

But it’s helped you become more assertive. You feel things more strongly to make up for having to feel others’ emotions.

Maybe that’s why your sisters always call you a cinnamon roll - you love them SO much, and it keeps you afloat above the tide of others’ emotions, grounding you.

And when you focus on that love, you can influence emotions around you, calming or agitating as you see fit.

They can be a little overprotective. You were only a baby when Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers adopted you, so Kara and Alex have been taking care of you all your life.

Kara likes hanging with you because you can make her feel calm when she’s angry or homesick for Krypton. Plus, you’re the only one who seems to want to know about Krypton.

She also sympathizes with you, since you lost your planet too.

However, sometimes she acts the stereotypical older sister, like your first day of school, where she completely ignored you.

Until you had a panic attack during recess from feeling so many foreign emotions and Kara had to take you somewhere more private.

From then on, you held Kara’s hand during periods between classes until you were old enough to regulate your powers.

Alex is incredibly protective of you, even more than Kara.

Mostly because you admire her so much - it’s a real ego boost.

She knew that due to your abilities, you wouldn’t have much luck away from home, so she immediately “informed” J’onn of your existence so that you could get a job at the DEO.

You don’t like keeping secrets from Kara, but you’ve also felt firsthand how outraged she can get when she feels like she isn’t being taken seriously.

Your job at the DEO is basically Human Resources - you’re pretty much a natural therapist for the high-stress lifestyle the agents lead. They like you a lot: you’re basically the team mascot.

Everybody has adopted the nickname “the cinnamon roll” for you. Except J’onn. He’s too professional.

But you love your life, even more so when Kara becomes Supergirl, because she’s so happy to not hide anymore.

It’s exciting to meet Superman, not only because he’s Kara’s cousin, but because he feels so happy and confident. Being around him makes you feel much calmer than usual.

Maybe that’s also why you feel comfortable with Brainy. He’s a completely synthetic being - meaning that you can’t feel his emotions.

When you’re alone with him, you feel normal for the first time in your life.

And Brainy likes you, too. You’re so understanding, even without feeling his emotions, and your powers are fascinating - true empaths are rare in the future. And one day Brainiac asks you out on - wait a moment while he tries to find the archaic term - a date.

You love hearing about the inventions and events of the distant future, and Brainiac is so intrigued by your knowledge of what he considers the distant past - the way you tell it, it somehow doesn’t seem quite as primitive and backwoods as he thought.

It catches Alex, Kara, and Mon-El completely by surprise that you and Brainiac 5 have started dating. Winn is completely shocked.

But they are all supportive. You tend to hang more with Winn and Brainy during this time because Kara and Alex’s emotions are all stormy due to Imra and Maggie.

Kara gets a little ticked off when Imra gushes about how cute you and Brainy seem together. You feel the waves of “don’t you dare call my brother cute” from her.

Brainy is a tad distractable, but he’s a good boyfriend, and the two of you never are short of subjects to talk about.

#male reader #brainiac 5 x male reader #supergirl x male reader #supergirl headcanons #dc headcanons #headcanons

90 notes · View notes

ramajmedia · 5 years

Text

Smallville Season 1: Best & Worst Episodes, Ranked | ScreenRant

Superman has come in many forms in live-action both on the big and small screen. One of the most beloved incarnations of the Man of Steel is Smallville, where Tom Welling portrayed a young Clark Kent for ten seasons on The WB and then The CW. For ten years, fans got to follow the boy of steel as he figured himself out and discovered his true destiny as Earth’s greatest hero.

RELATED: Smallville: 10 Best DC Villains, Ranked

For a decade we got over 200 episodes of material where viewers followed Clark and the people in his life before he became the Man of Tomorrow. While the journey was long, Clark eventually ended up in the classic suit as he took it to the skies and became Superman. When a show has gone on for as long as it had, each season definitely comes with strong episodes as well as some stinkers. With that said, these are the best and worst episodes of Smallville Season 1.

10 WORST: Craving (Episode 7)

Before she was Lois Lane in the DC Extended Universe, Amy Adams had already stepped into the world of Superman. In the seventh episode of Smallville’s first season, Adams played Jodi Melville who is struggling with being overweight. This was one of the show’s wackier ways of using meteor rock (which would later become known as Kryptonite) and this happened early on.

In this episode, Jodi makes smoothies through vegetables that were infected by meteor rock and this caused her to lose weight really quick. But of course, it came with a cost, as she could only please her hunger by sucking literal human fat.

9 BEST: Leech (Episode 12)

One of the recycled obstacles that Smallville liked to use was making Clark temporarily powerless every once in a while. The first time was in the twelfth episode in the first season where Eric Summers (Shawn Ashmore) who gets Clark’s powers through a thunderstorm via meteor rock.

Even though Clark had a shot of living a normal life, our young hero eventually had to stop and take Eric's powers after he begins to act like a villain.

8 WORST: Metamorphosis (Episode 2)

The early season enjoyed its freak-of-the-week structure with some being better than others. Following the freak we had in the pilot, the second episode dials it up to an 11 when they introduced Greg Arkin or Bugboy (Chad E. Donella) as he was better known by.

RELATED: Smallville: Every Single Season, Ranked

For a second episode to get as strange as Metamorphosis was a pretty weird move by Smallville. Visually, it was also off-putting seeing a meteor-freak (before they were known as meta-humans) with insect-like behavior as well as some powers.

7 BEST: Stray (Episode 16)

One of the later episodes that really stand out in Season 1 is the sixteenth episode “Stray.” In this one, we meet Ryan James (Ryan Kelley), who has the power of telepathy. But unlike some of the other meteor-rock infected people, Ryan didn’t use his powers for evil. In fact, he was being used by his stepparents who took advantage of Ryan’s power.

While on the run from his home, Ryan gets temporarily taken in by the Kents and this gives us one of the sweetest episodes, allowing Clark to have a little brother for a period of time. It’s genuinely a lovely episode because of the dynamic between Clark and Ryan.

6 WORST: Drone (Episode 18)

“Metamorphosis” wasn’t the only bug-themed freak-of-the-week in Smallville’s first season. In the eighteenth episode later that season, we got Sasha Woodman (Shonda Farr), a student with the power to control bees.

The whole notion that she was using these bees to take out all of her competition in the ongoing race for class president is both hilarious as well as overall freaky. Overall, not one of the best episodes.

5 BEST: Hourglass (Episode 6)

Clark goes through an emotional roller coaster in the sixth episode when we meet Cassandra Carver (Jackie Burroughs), a blind woman with the ability to see someone’s future after touching them. This episode is iconic in many ways because her first vision causes Clark to learn that he will outlive the people he loves. However, Cassandra’s role in this episode is unforgettable.

RELATED: 10 Smallville Characters That Should Appear in Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover

She becomes one of the early people to inform Clark of the role he will play in so many people’s lives, hinting at his future as Superman. Then there is also the vision she has of Lex that is iconic in itself, where we see him in the White House before being surrounded by death, hinting at his destiny as a villain. While she sadly passes away after that, “Hourglass” is outstanding because of the destinies that are hinted at for both Clark and Lex.

4 WORST: Cool (Episode 5)

In the fifth episode, we get one of the cheekier freaks of the week in the form of Sean Kelvin (Michael Coristine) who had one of the worse accidents when it came to meteor rock. After falling into an iced lake that had meteor rock in it, Sean is stuck with permanent hypothermia.

However, Sean gets a dangerous gift that allows him to suck heat out of anything living, which in turn warms him up. On paper, "Cool" probably sounded fine but the execution was somewhat lacking.

3 BEST: Pilot (Episode 1)

This is the episode that started it all and to this day, it still holds up as one of the best series premieres of any show. Through the pilot, we get introduced to Clark’s world from when Krypton exploded to his life in high school.

There are so many iconic moments that are still amazing today: Lana Lang’s (Kristin Kreuk) “So what are you, man or superman?;” Clark saving Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), and Clark becoming that year’s scarecrow. This is the episode that made it clear Smallville had an amazing story to tell about DC Comics’ icon.

2 WORST: Reaper (Episode 17)

The seventeenth episode was another unsettling one that was just hard to watch. In this, we meet Tyler Randall (Reynaldo Rosales) who comes back to life through meteor rock, but also with a deadly gift. He could now touch anyone and turn them into ash.

It gets even more intense when he decides to “help” those who are suffering by killing sick people so they could get a peaceful death. While it made him one of the more dangerous freaks of the week, it was still a bit too much for the series given that it was its first season.

1 BEST: Tempest (Episode 21)

No matter whether a Smallville season is considered strong or weak, the show always kills it with its premieres and finales. The first season finale made that incredibly clear. Clark and his friends are focusing on having a good spring formal, but everything goes to hell when a tornado hits the little town.

While that is all going down, there is major tension with the Luthors, as Lex and Lionel (John Glover) were going through some serious drama. The finale also has one of the most unforgettable endings with Clark going into the tornado to save Lana.

NEXT: Smallville: 10 Best Clark Kent/Lois Lane Moments, Ranked

source https://screenrant.com/smallville-season-1-best-worst-episodes-ranked/

#screenrant

3 notes · View notes

manygalaxiesinone · 5 years

Text

What if Shura and Selion never left?

((Hee ho doods! Prinnyfrost reporting for duty! Say, remember when I made my what if about the fake Zenon not invading Veldime? Yeah to sum it up, without him around, we’d pretty much wouldn’t have a game. That being said, I was thinking about it lately and it did bring up some ideas for 2 other what ifs I have in mind right now, and this post will be discussing part of the first one. First, some backstory. Adell’s actual parents, Shura and Selion, were demons that escaped from a Netherworld due to a war for power

and no, unlike with Planets Vegeta and Krypton, it’s not confirmed whether or not the planet blew up, and they landed on Veldime. To their surprise, the people of Veldime were very kindhearted and welcomed demons with open arms. Shura and Selion soon made this world their new home and lived in peace. Unfortunately, that changed when the fake Zenon invaded. Wanting to protect everyone, they challenged the faker to combat, where they sadly lost and became his servants, thus leaving everything they had, including their child, Adell, to their closest friends. This story will be about what if that didn’t happen though. What if their friends, Mom and Dad, convinced them not to go after Zenon just yet as they fear they may not be ready? After all, they left their Netherworld due to a war, and now their dealing with what could be the strongest overlord in existence. It may not be a good idea to go after him just yet. Shura and Selion reluctantly agree that perhaps it would be better to get some training done before going after the big bad, plus they do have a child to look after as well. Fortunately, Zenon’s curse doesn’t turn everyone fully into demons and there’s a chance they could reverse it after defeating him.

Now, let’s go over some of the changes in this story. As stated before in my “What if Fake Zenon doesn’t invade” story, I pointed out that Adell would definitely get some major changes. First, his dislikes of women and demons would be non-existent here. Adell wouldn’t hate demons because he knows full well that he and his parents are demons, thus proving there are some good and bad ones out there, and he wouldn’t hate women because he wouldn’t fall for Elenor’s trick. Elenor tried to get Adell to exchange his soul for information about his parents when he was young, thus resulted on those scars on his face. He barely made it out alive. Here though, he has no reason to see Elenor, so pretty much that event likely never happened. This also means that, while I do believe Shura and Selion would raise Adell to be a kind and strong warrior, considering how proud of him they were in the original timeline, Adell won’t be so fixated on keeping promises or avoid telling lies, since he only vowed to do so after Shura and Selion “abandoned” him.

Even his fighting style would likely be different since in the original story, while it hasn’t been confirmed how he learned to fight, I do believe he was self taught in martial arts. However; it’s likely that in this story, Shura and Selion would train him to fight more like them. You gotta keep in mind, we are talking about years and years of prep time before the initial events of Disgaea 2, which is when Adell becomes 17 years old and Shura and Selion would probably also start training him since he was a kid in order to make sure he can at least protect himself. So instead of a brawler, Adell would become a magic knight. And if Selion was the friend that Mom learned from that Adell mentioned, that may mean Adell could learn to use summons as well. Ooh.

His relationship with Taro and Hanako would be kind of the same. After all, Mom and Dad are Shura and Selion’s closest friends on Veldime, so Adell playing with Taro and Hanako from time to time isn’t outside of the realm of possibility here. The only differences I could see here are Adell calling Mom and Dad “Aunt” and “Uncle” to avoid confusion, and Hanako’s adoration for Adell becoming a legitimate crush since they’re not related at all.

“I’ll become a strong, sexy demon one day and win Adell’s heart for sure!”

This may or may not be a problem in the future, but we’ll see.

The story begins normally with many years passed and Shura, Selion, and Adell feeling ready to take on Zenon. Instead of searching for Zenon, Mom insisted on summoning him, though they were against it at first because of the life energy required for the ritual. As usual, Rozalin pops out, claiming to be Zenon’s daughter. And like before Rozalin is bound to them by the ritual and therefore “guides” them to find Zenon. Things play out normally aside from the fact that Shura and Selion join Adell and Rozalin, refusing to let Adell fight Zenon on his own.

They soon come across Axel and his crew working on their travel show. When Rozalin tries to trick them into thinking that Axel’s Zenon, this...almost doesn’t work.

Rozalin: “That is him! That man over there is my father!”

Adell: “Really?!”

Selion: “Hold on, isn’t Zenon trying to remain secretive in the eyes of the public? Why is he going around with a camera crew?”

Rozalin: “Um...well...”

Shura: “I expected you to try to pull a stunt like this. I never believed you would willingly take us to him, being his daughter and all.”

Adell: “Well, hang on, it wouldn’t hurt to ask them right? If they work for Zenon, maybe they could point us in the right direction.”

Selion: “I suppose you’re right. Let’s give it a shot.”

Adell goes up to them and asks whether or not they work for Zenon. Axel, being the guy that he is, sees this as an opportunity. Director told him to stop making up enemies, but what if the enemies are real, eh? He tells them that their Zenon’s elite soldiers and they’ll take down anyone that gets in his way. Of course, this ends up badly for him.

Adell: “So, were those really Zenon’s elite soldiers? They were pretty weak.”

Rozalin: “I’m not sure. Father has plenty of loyal servants under him. It’s difficult to keep track of them all.”

Selion: “Not surprising considering that you’ve never been outside before.”

Shura: “I believe it’s time we call it a day and continue our search tomorrow.”

Adell: “Sure. I’m starting to get hungry anyway.”

The episode ends normally with them heading home and eating dinner, Zenon ordering other servants to look for Rozalin, and the news announcing that Axel has been murdered.

Episode 2 begins with Rozalin having nightmares about her past life. Oh and before I forget, Rozalin’s staying with Shura, Selion, and Adell in their home instead of with Mom and Dad. While I do believe either Shura or Selion can cook, it probably won’t stop Hanako from making food for them from time to time, especially if it means making Adell happy. I don’t really imagine them living in a mansion of some sort, so Rozalin would still probably call it a dog house.

Still beats sleeping in an actual one, eh Zetta?

Rozalin “guides” the 3 of them to a destroyed palace (and yes it’s destroyed due to Fubuki’s attack on it, NOT Shura and Selion). Despite her little trick from earlier, they do want to trust Rozalin to help them out with this and take her back to her father.

Rozalin: “You’re really going to trust me despite what happened yesterday? I am a demon and you all intend to kill my father. What part of that equation gives you the notion that you can trust me?”

Shura: “While it is true that I expect more of your tricks, I do prefer not to use you as a hostage, especially since we summoned you by accident.”

Selion: “If we did, we would have done so quite some time ago. Our target is Zenon. It would be wrong to include his daughter who isn’t responsible for the curse.”

Rozalin: “Is that so? Demons don’t usually trust each other, let alone risk their lives for the sake of humans. I must admit, you are quite the peculiar bunch.”

It didn’t take too long for them to come across Tink, who had been transformed during the attack and things play out like usual with Tink getting jealous and attacking them for speaking to the princess in such a friendly manner until Rozalin calms him down with a spell. Tink joins the party under Rozalin’s insistence since he is her best friend from childhood. Axel has been informed that it’s been reported that he died during the fight. In secret, Rozalin tells Tink that they need to keep an eye on this family because they are a rather dangerous bunch and she needs his cunning to deal with them, especially since they’re outnumbered now in this story. When they meet Axel again, his reaction goes from complete fear to a mix of fear and excitement.

Adell: “Hey, aren’t you guys Zenon’s squad from yesterday?”

Axel: “Hahahaha! It’s that Red Knight from before! I hope you’re ready! This time you’ll feel the true sting of the Dark Hero!”

Shura: “Dark Hero? I heard of that title before. Aren’t you the record holder for the most Ding-Dong-Ditches within a day?”

Axel: “Ah ha! So you’ve heard of me! My greatness spreads across the galaxy even to this day.”

Adell: “So wait, you DON’T work for Zenon?!”

Rozalin: “Pathetic fool! Your desecration of my father’s palace won’t be forgiven!”

Axel: “Huh? What are you talking about?”

Rozalin: “I am Rozalin, the only daughter of Overlord Zenon, and you are an intruder!”

Axel: “Y-You’re Zenon’s daughter? Y...Y...Y...YES!!! This is it Director!”

Director: “What do mean, Axel Darling?”

Axel: “Get this, the Legendary Red Knight and White Tiger face off with each other in a glorious battle for the sake of none other than the beautiful daughter of Zenon himself! Heated battles from love triangles are all the rage nowadays! This is the perfect chance to prove that I’m still alive!”

Adell: “Wait, but I’m not in love with-”

Axel: “Red Knight! Let’s put your feelings for the princess to the true test!”

Adell: *sighs* “Do I have to do this?”

Selion: “It’s doubtful that he’ll let us leave until we fight. I pray this won’t take too much time.”

After Axel loses again, Rozalin congrats Adell for winning the fight for her. Adell jokes by asking if he won a date with her, to which she completely denies, but she will allow him to carry her home. Adell rolls his eyes after saying “oh, wonderful.” Selion questions how someone like him managed to successfully destroy the palace, to which Tink replies that it wasn’t him, but instead Demon Lord Etna. And that’s where I’m going to leave this story for now.))

1 note · View note

lena-in-a-red-dress · 6 years

Text

Post S3 Finale Fic, Part 9

They don't speak any more of the Kryptonite that evening in the lab, or the following morning at breakfast. In fact, they pretend their last conversation never happened. Partly because Kara doesn't know how to react to Lena's confession, and partly because Lena doesn't know if she gave Kara the answer she wanted to hear.

In the meantime Lena keeps her promise to be civil. Kara tries to ignore the studying looks that Alura gives them when she thinks neither of her guests are looking.

By the time dinner at Thara's rolls around, Kara hopes it will be a fun distraction, a break from the awkward atmosphere, but when she and Lena arrive, her stiffness only grips her tighter.

"Kara!" Thara exclaims upon opening the door.

From the corner of her eye, Kara can see Lena's eyes narrow ever so slightly when Thara touches her heart with a respectful nod. It's a reception Kara hasn't seen in years-- a deference to the crest against her own breast that she'd thought had died with her planet.

But the reverence passes with an enthusiastic embrace a moment later, and an equally warm welcome for Lena, who doesn't mention the genuflect as their hosts begin to give them a tour of their home.

Kara feels that same friction as before-- the memory of their close friendship grinding against the distance between her and Thara now. Her voice gets trapped somewhere behind the colliding realities, limiting her to nods and monosyllabic responses.

It doesn't help that Thara takes advantage of the new audience to retell the story of her gazebo again, almost verbatim. It takes all of Kara's control to keep from screaming in frustration, and does her best to tune it out. Whether Lena notices the change in her, Kara isn't sure, but her friend turns on the charm and carries the majority of the conversation.

She carries it so much, in fact, that halfway through dinner Thara calls attention to it with a tinkling laugh.

"Well, Lena, I have to say you are far more engaging than I anticipated. The last guest Kara brought home was certainly polite but he was so, so-- oh, what's the word? Not unfriendly..."

"Taciturn," Thara's husband supplies, cracking a grin of his own.

"Taciturn! Yes!" Thara agrees, gesturing enthusiastically. "The man was so taciturn he barely said a word over dinner that wasn't about the food!"

Lena glances to Kara in question.

"Mon-el," she mumbles, hiding her flush by taking a sip of her wine.

"Ah," Lena says softly, eyes lingering on Kara. "You mean my ex-fiance."

Kara nearly inhales her drink, spluttering to clear her windpipe as green eyes glitter at her her in the low light.

Thara's gaze bounces between them, alight with interest. "I'm sorry?"

With the smallest of winks, Lena's eyes break away, affording Thara a grin. "Oh, yeah-- Kara didn't tell you? One minute I'm working in my lab with someone I think is trying to get home, and the next I'm waking up on a spaceship to Rhea telling me I'm going to marry her son."

Thara hunches forward, eager to hear more. "I thought Daxam was destroyed with Krypton! They went to Earth?"

Lena nods. "Luckily, Supergirl came to my rescue," she continues, sliding an indiscernable glance to Kara. "I made it home completely unmarried and the invasion ended a few days after that. The Daxamites left, and the planet is safe. Well-- was. And is, again."

"And does Earth often face such dire straits?" Thara asks.

"Often enough." Lena's voice turns soft. "But we're in good hands."

She doesn't look at Kara this time, but Kara feels her meaning in the deepest reaches of her soul. Sipping her drink to hide her heating flush, Thara continues without notice.

"And the people of Earth live alongside aliens, every day?" Thara giggles as though it's the funniest thing in the world. "I can scarcely fathom it! Krypton used to host the occasional foreign diplomat, but there was never such immigration."

"It's taken some getting used to, for a lot of people," Lena confesses. "Myself included. I don't know how Earth got a reputation as a refuge for alien indigents, but it's certainly jarring when you consider our planet is dying. We're consuming resources at a pace that far exceeds our ability to replace them, and we have war, famine, drought-- so many of our own hardships that we have yet to solve. We can't even help ourselves, and yet more and more aliens arrive every day, expecting to find a home with us and use even more of our dwindling resources."

Kara sometimes forgets that Lena doesn't understand. That the Luthor conservatism runs deep, disguised as pragmatism. Every time she's reminded cuts deeper than the last, and tonight is no exception. She stares at her plate, rigid and unmoving, desperate to be the exception to her friend's cynicism.

"But then I consider that Earth isn't the first choice for these people. We're the hail mary-- a last resort for people who have been displaced by war and genocide, driven from their homes in search of safety and stability elsewhere. To begrudge their desperation... that's cruelty, plain and simple."

A quiet falls over the table, and Kara hesitantly lifts her gaze. Lena reaches for her glass, cheeks pink with flush. When she speaks, she looks at no one in particular, but Kara knows it's meant for her.

"I've not always been the most welcome of people new to Earth. I've been quick to judge, and slow to change." She pauses, tilting her glass to watch the wine swirl inside. "But I'm trying to be better."

Her eyes flash towards Kara, and the flush in her cheeks deepens suddenly. A giddy feeling swirls in Kara's chest, pulling her lips into a smile she immediately tries to hide.

Lena shrugs, finally sipping from the glass still in her hand. "And who knows? Some of these people are coming from planets with science far beyond our own, vastly more educated than people on Earth. Maybe some of them could help us treat our home better, if we gave them the chance."

"I imagine they would want to help the planet that helps them," Thara chimes in. Her gaze bounces between them, holding Kara's for just a second before sliding away. After that, talk turns menial, and Kara can get away with stealing glances at Lena and pretending she doesn't feel Lena's gaze whenever she looks away.

The night ends with final reassurances that "your gazebo is lovely, Thara, absolutely lovely" and a slow walk back to Alura's house. Words bubble up in Kara's throat, vague and formless but needing to be said. In the end, she defaults to mirth.

"Ex-fiance?" she asks, nudging Lena's shoulder with her own.

Lena nudges her back. "It's technically true," she says, utterly unapologetic. "And if I had to hear another word about that damn gazebo, I was going to lose my mind."

Kara bursts out laughing.

"It was like sitting for tea with the board of the DAR, my god! What does it matter? Just turn the bench around so it faces the direction you want!"

Her laughter turning to cackle, Kara clutches Lena's arm. Before she knows it, their elbows are looped together, and Lena presses against her side, warm and soft. Lena's own chuckles fade.

"Sorry. I just didn't realize that kind of mundanity spans the galaxy."

"Yeah." Kara blinks, and gazes into the dark reaches of the sky. Abruptly, she notices that despite lack of clouds that night, no stars twinkle down at them. "That might have been me, you know."

"Hm?"

"Thara and I used to be the best of friends. If my parents hadn't sent me to Earth... I might have had the same life she does."

It's hard to imagine. Being safe. Comfortable. Among the same people she's known since birth. A guardian of peace, rather than an enforcer of justice. Unaware of anything that existed beyond Argo City. Unable to fathom that someone might wish another harm.

No CatCo. No DEO.

No Alex. No Mon-el.

No Lena.

Kara's heart lurches when she realizes she wouldn't trade. If she could choose life on Earth over life here on Argo with her mother and Thara--- she would choose Earth, and all the unexpected blessings and hardships that came with it.

"Do you ever wonder?" Kara asks softly. She turns her gaze from the starless sky to Lena's profile. "What might have been if you'd stayed with your mother?"

"My story is so different from yours, Kara. I don't even remember what my birth mother looked like, let alone what kind of person she might have been. Whatever that life could have held for me... it was over before it ever started."

The words rumble in Lena's throat, her voice low and honest. She shrugs. "My what ifs aren't about my adoption. Mine are... if my father had told me the truth about him and my mother, or if Superman hadn't ever come to Earth. If my brother hadn't changed so much. If I'd seen him spiralling, and reached out to him sooner."

Kara smiles, and hugs Lena's arm a little closer. "You'd still be the same person."

Their eyes meet in the dark. Suddenly, they feel very close indeed. The stars may not grace the sky above, but they still shimmer in Lena's eyes when she smiles.

"I think you would be too."

"Yeah?"

Lena hums. "You still wouldn't give a shit about that gazebo."

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14 (fin)

#i wrote dis #post s3 finale #reveal fic #supercorp #supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers #argo city #thara #and her gazebo #fluffy #took a break from the angst #and sure lena is conservative #but shes also compassionate #so sue me

71 notes · View notes

argyle-s · 6 years

Text

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME CHAPTER 26/38

Rating: Mature

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Kara gets interrupted during a negotiation, Maggie considers whether or not she wants to try to start a relationship with Alex, and Cat finds someone on her balcony.

Notes: I promised you a longer chapter today, and here it is.

Thanks to @ifourmindbeso for her great work as a beta. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.

Chapter 26 - Prices

It was just past nine when Kara dropped out of the sky at a hanger near the long-closed Otto Bender International Airport. She wasn’t wearing the suit that day. Instead, she was dressed in her off-duty outfit again. Blue Leather pants worn over red boots, a blue sleeveless silk shirt, and a red leather jacket, with the House of El Coat of Arms embossed on it. This suit hadn’t made it out to the media. Not yet. It would happen eventually, she knew that. But there was a reason she’d worn that outfit, and not the suit. She wasn’t there as Supergirl, champion of National City and Earth. She was at the warehouse as Kara Zor-El, and the distinction was important, if she was going to do the things she needed to do.

She spotted the man waiting for her as she touched down. He was Bedoreeni, unless she missed her guess. Easy enough for them to pass for human as long as they wore dark sunglasses.

“My Lady,” he said.

“Marcosus?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I was told you were seeking certain goods, and that your House would pay well for them. Is this true?”

“Very well,” Kara said. “The House of El has always been known for our generosity towards our allies.”

“I am pleased to hear this,” he said. “I apologize that I am unable to offer proper courtesies before we begin, but on this world, it would attract undue notice.”

“My friend, there is no apology necessary,” she said. “If you have what I need, that is courtesy enough to gain the thanks of my House.”

He nodded and headed towards one of the small doors of the hanger, and Kara followed. When she stepped inside, she stopped and gasped.

“Is that what I think it is?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “A Thanagarian Frigate, my Lady.”

It was in pieces, and had obviously been picked clean for salvage, but the hull lines were unmistakable.

“How much Nth Metal?” she asked.

“A thousand metric tons, My Lady,” he said. “The whole vessel weighs close to forty-two thousand tons, but much of that is lesser metals. The Nth metal I sell for ten dollars a gram.”

It was more than she ever expected to find. Probably more than she would need. But the surplus would open up possibilities. She did a bit of quick math in her head. Ten billion dollars for the lot. The money wouldn’t be a problem. The AI they’d dropped in the past before traveling to Krypton meant that she’d arrived a year ago with almost fifteen billion waiting for her. Once she’d got Konex up and running, that amount had grown by a factor of a hundred. Most of it was tied up in her long-term plans but shaking loose ten billion would be easy enough. The problem was moving ten billion dollars without attracting attention.

“How much for the whole thing?” she asked.

She couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but she could tell she’d surprised him.

“I did not realize you needed that much, My Lady,” he said.

“I’m not sure even this is enough my friend, but I would like to purchase the entire wreck, if it’s within my means. Even the lesser metals will have some value.”

She could tell he was worried, and with reason. It was possible he could take her in a fight, but it would take more luck than he could reasonably count on. If she decided to take what she wanted without paying, he would be in trouble.

“Be at ease, friend. The House of El trades fairly, and I swear to you, I will only take what I can pay for and what you are willing to sell.”

He relaxed, visibly, then turned to the wreck. “Your words please me, My Lady. I will remember your generosity and speak honestly with you.”

She nodded.

“The Nth Metal is worth the price I gave, in small amounts, but the truth is, I cannot move the wreck myself and there is no one I trust to move it for me. I brought you here only because of who you are. The name of the House of El is still remembered and your cousin has proven it is still a name associated with honor. Even you, daughter of Alura, have shown yourself to be a friend to those like me. As much as I would like to pretend otherwise, the wreck will be discovered by your DEO sooner, rather than later. The demolition of this airport is exacted to begin in the middle of next year. At that time, I would lose anything I haven’t already sold, and there are not a lot of buyers for Nth Metal. If I tried to approach the government here, they would simply take it for themselves and pay nothing. The same for the few human companies that would understand what I offer.”

He looked at the ship, then at her. “Five Hundred Million, and the whole wreck is yours,” he said.

Kara could see that he was expecting her to talk him down. In Bedoreeni custom, it was traditional to begin negotiations with the highest you could imagine someone paying, and for the buyer to begin by low balling.

“The House of El is generous, Marcosus. We will pay your price and add this, as well. The House of El owes you a favor. I will pass word to my cousin. You may come to either of us, and we will honor the debt.”

“You are too kind, My Lady,” he said.

“I’ve been told that more than once, my friend. Now, do you have an account I can transfer the money into?”

“I do most of my business in cash, My Lady.”

“I understand. Konex,” Kara said, taking out her phone, and pressing the home button. “Konex, I need you here.”

Konex appeared in a flash of light. “Yes, Lady Kara?”

“This is Marcosus. He is owed a favor by the House. Make note of it.”

“Of course, Lady Kara.”

“He is selling us goods necessary to the future of the house. The price agreed on is half a billion US Dollars. However, Marcosus does not have suitable banking arrangements. Remedy this to his satisfaction, and arrange to have the contents of this building collected and stored securely, and then-”

She was cut off by the sound of the text alert she’d set for Lucy. She quickly unlocked her phone and pulled up the message.

‘Dad headed to work to collect new guests,’ was all the text said.

“Konex, suit, now,” she said, then turned to Marcosus. “Please, forgive me-“

“Go, My Lady,” he said. “I understand.”

When Kara turned back around, Konex was holding one of her suits. A burst of super-speed and she was suited up, and out the door. Her lift off shattered the pavement, and the sonic booms echoed through National City for miles.

At three times the speed of sound, the thirty-mile trip from where she’d been to the DEO base outside of the city took less than a minute, but by the time she arrived, things were already starting to get ugly. Hank and Alex, along with thirty DEO agents were on the surface, facing down General Lane’s men over the barrels of assault rifles and pistols.

Kara didn’t want to see anyone on either side hurt, except maybe Lane himself, so she came in hot, pouring on the deceleration, but not stopping. Using a move she’d learned from Barry, she zipped through the ranks of Lane’s men at super-speed, dropping magazines, ejecting cartridges, popping takedown pins and stripping uppers off lowers, before coming to a stop next to J’onn and dropping out of superspeed.

Lane’s men all collectively flinched as they realized that their weapons had been field stripped in between one breath and the other. Even Lane’s eyes widened as he realized how drastically the situation had shifted.

“Sorry I’m late, Director Henshaw,” Kara said.

“Not a problem, Supergirl,” J’onn said. “In fact, I’d say you’re right on time.”

“And I’d say she has no business here,” Lane said.

“Well, fortunately, General Lane, you don’t make that decision,” J’onn said.

“As a matter of fact, I do. I’m here to take possession of the Fort Rozz prisoners who surrendered last night, and Supergirl is interfering with that.”

“On whose authority?” J’onn asked.

“By the authority of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Military, and the Secretary of Defense,” Lane replied.

“Really,” Kara said. She reached down and pulled her phone out of her boot. “You won’t mind if I give the Joint Chiefs a call then? Or, you know what, let’s take this right to the top.” Kara pressed the home button on her phone. “Call Olivia,” she said. The command, which she’d set up with Konex over a year ago, initiated a series of protocols the AI had set up, which first accessed any number of secure systems and got the President’s exact location, which at that moment happened to be the oval office, and routed the call to the nearest phone, which in this particular case happened to be the red one sitting on President Marsdin’s desk.

“President Marsdin,” came a voice which echoed across the field in the desert, making Lane’s eyes go even wider.

“Hey, Madam President. This is Supergirl. You’re on Speaker. I’ve got Director Henshaw, Agent Danvers, and General Sam Lane here with me.”

“Interesting crowd,” came the response in a carefully neutral tone. “Any chance you’re going to tell me how you got this particular number?”

“Oh, dear… Did the call come through on the Red Phone?” Kara asked.

“Yes, it did.”

“Sorry about that,” Kara said. “Didn’t mean to scare you. When I set up the protocol, I figured I’d only be using it in an emergency and designed it to route to whatever phone was physically closest to you.”

“Maybe you should call my secretary sometime, and we can see about setting up something a bit more official.”

“That’s probably a good idea for next time, but I’m afraid this isn’t a social call, ma’am.”

“I gathered that when you described who was with you. How can I help?”

“Well, ma’am, per your instructions, last night, I contacted General In-Ze, and as agreed, she surrendered to Director Henshaw and the DEO. Altogether, she brought in ninety-five former prisoners from Fort Rozz, including the Coluan Indigo and Astra’s husband Non. At the General’s recommendation, Non and Indigo are being held as Enemy Combatants, but the rest are settling in the temporary residences we built in preparation for the surrender.”

“That’s good news,” Marsdin said.

“Yes, I thought so, until General Lane showed up this morning with the intention of taking them into military custody.”

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Marsdin asked.

“When I arrived at the DEO this morning, General Lane’s men were here, with guns pointed at the DEO agents on scene, and the stated intention of taking all the Fort Rozz prisoners into military, rather than DEO custody. I disarmed General Lane’s men in order to prevent any unfortunate accidents, and then called you. General Lane did mention that he’s here acting on orders from the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense and I have to admit, President Marsdin, that left me a little upset. I thought we had reached an understanding last week as to how the prisoners would be handled.”

“Supergirl,” Marsdin said.

“Yes, Madam President?”

“Please take me off speaker and pass the phone to General Lane.”

“Of course, Madam President.” Kara touched the screen, switching the call from speaker to normal, and held the phone out to General Lane, who’d gone white as a sheet. He reached out, and took the phone, raising it to his ear.

“Yes, Madam President?” he said, and those were the last words he spoke for the next twenty-three minutes, after which he passed the phone back to Kara with a simple, “She wants to speak to you.”

Kara raised the phone to her ear. “Supergirl speaking,” she said.

“Kara,” Marsdin said, “you have my apologies.”

“I’d like to say it’s okay, but you know I can’t.”

“I know, but I promise you, this will never happen again.”

“I will hold you to that,” Kara said before hanging up the phone. She looked at General Lane. “I think you’re done here.”

Maggie dropped down on one of the bar stools at Darla’s and waved at M’gann, getting a smile in return. Without asking, M’gann reached into the beer cooler and took out a bottle of Blue Moon. She turned slightly and Carl, the other bartender, blew on the bottle for a second, chilling it an extra few degrees before M’gann carried it over.

“Perks of having a Glacian on staff,” M’gann said as she used her thumb to pop the cap of the beer.

“You know that’s kind of invasive, right?” Maggie said as she reached for the bottle.

“I am what I am,” M’gann said. “I can’t help it if you’re broadcasting right now.”

“If that’s your way of telling me to shut up, I’d love to, but I don’t know how,” Maggie said.

“You should get Kara to give you lessons,” M’gann said. “She’s got the quietest mind I’ve ever seen.”

“You know Kara?” Maggie said.

“She’s been in,” M’gann said. “Good tipper. Bit showy for my taste.”

“I thought Martians couldn’t read Kryptonians.”

“We can’t read them, but normally, we get a sense of presence, a hint of emotion. It’s like static on a radio. Not from her though. Silent as a corpse. She’s definitely had training.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maggie said.

“So, what’s got you all wound up,” M’gann asked. “You’re not usually a screamer.”

“No, but I could make you one,” Maggie replied.

M’gann laughed and shook her head. “God, it’s a wonder anyone puts up with you.”

“You know you love me,” Maggie said.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” M’gann said. “I mean, you’re cute, but you’re a little young for me.”

“You’re three hundred and change. Everyone is young for you.”

“You begin to see my problem. So, my young Padawan, what troubles you?”

“It’s a long story,” Maggie said, “but like any good one, it’s about a girl.”

“Tall, auburn haired and gorgeous?” M’gann asked with a knowing smile.

“Yeah,” Maggie said.

“Closet cases are always trouble,” M’gann said.

“That’s not the issue,” Maggie said. “I mean, it’s an issue, but… Ah, crap. It’s complicated, and you’re gonna think I’m nuts.”

M’gann stared at her for a moment, then turned towards Carl. “Hold things down for a few?” Carl nodded, and M’gann walked through the bar. “Come on Sawyer. Let’s grab a booth.”

Maggie picked up her beer and followed M’gann over to a booth in the corner that was both empty, and away from everyone else. She dropped down opposite her friend and took another sip from her beer.

“So, spill it,” M’gann said.

“Okay, this is going to sound crazy,” Maggie said. “But let’s say you met someone, and you really, really liked them.”

“Oh, the horror,” M’gann said.

“Shut up and listen,” Maggie said. “So, you meet this person. You hit it off. Things are going really, really well. And then, someone who can see the future… Not someone who claims they can see the future, but someone who you know for absolute certain can *actually* see the future tells you that if you choose to pursue things, you and this person you like are going to fall in love and get married.”

“In that unlikely event, I think I’d probably be pretty happy. I mean, love is a good thing, right?”

“Yeah,” Maggie said. “Now, suppose that this person who can tell the future tells you there’s this one thing you and this person you like are going to fight about. And it’s not a little issue. In fact, it’s kind of huge. Like, say, she wants kids, and you have never even considered having kids. But this person won’t tell you how the argument turns out.”

M’gann stared at her for a long time, and Maggie concentrated on making her mind as blank as possible, which for Maggie basically meant playing ‘One Week’ by the Barenaked Ladies over and over again in her head. She could see M’gann’s face flicker in annoyance.

“Well, at least it’s not a Katie Perry song,” M’gann said, making Maggie smile. M’gann sighed. “Look, Maggie, species that can actually see the future are few and far between. Those that can, don’t advertise, and generally don’t share information unless there’s something in it for them. So, even if, in this ‘hypothetical’, we were to take what you were told at face value, you have to understand that these people only see *probable* futures.”

Maggie nodded. “Okay, assume that in this hypothetical, all of that has been taken into account, and the information is absolutely legit. What do you do?”

“Well,” M’gann said, clearly still unhappy, “I suppose I would step back and consider *why* I never wanted kids. I’d also have to consider what exactly does ‘she wants kids’ mean. Does she want to carry the kids? Does she want you to carry them? Would adoption be enough? If she’s willing to adopt, does she want a baby, or would she adopt an older kid? Does she want one kid, or a bunch? Then, once you’ve worked all that out, you need to figure out how you feel about each of those options.

“Look, Maggie, the last time I went on a date, Louis the XIV was King of France, so I’m a little short on firsthand experience, but what I do know is that relationships only work when you are willing to compromise. Figure out what it is you can live with, and when she brings the subject up, lay it out for her, and figure out where she’s willing to compromise. Then, go from there.”

Maggie nodded, giving M’gann a big smile, because she’d given Maggie a way to tackle what felt like an overwhelming problem. “Thanks,” she said. “I think that’s just what I needed to hear.”

“Good,” M’gann said. “But remember what I said about people who can see the future. That sort of thing *always* ends up costing somebody something. People get shot over things like that. Usually in the head.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Maggie watched M'gann get up and walk away, admiring the view the tight jeans the Martian was wearing gave her. She blushed and looked away when M'gann gave a little wiggle that proved she knew Maggie had been looking.

She took another sip of her beer and thought about what M'gann had said. She'd never wanted kids. It just wasn't something on her radar. She could see the argument though. Getting into a relationship and getting the kids thing sprung on her. She could see it because it had happened before.

An argument over kids with Emily that just would not end. The more Emily pressed, the more Maggie had dug in. It had gone on for weeks, until one night there was a screaming match. Emily had told her to leave. Maggie had taken it as a breakup, because ‘I can’t even look at you anymore. Just get the fuck out,' sounded pretty fucking final, and she'd done something stupid. She’d gone out and gotten plastered, and when Emily had let herself into Maggie’s apartment the next morning, Maggie had been curled up around Toby, which had been horribly enough, without the screaming match with Emily that had followed, which ended with her telling Maggie to go fuck herself. The phone call with Toby later, where her former best friend expressed a similar sentiment.

Since then, Maggie had avoided thinking about the topic all together, because it brought up a lot of painful memories. Emily’s ‘you don’t deserve to be happy’ and Toby’s ‘you poison everything you touch’ and her father’s ‘you shamed me’.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what Kara was doing, either. The way she refused to tell Maggie how the argument ended was enough of a hint. Besides, she couldn’t imagine any version of herself that would consent to bringing a kid into the world in the middle of a war that was being lost. Of course, there was the possibility that she and Alex had picked up some stray. A little war orphan. Maggie had no trouble at all imagining that after all the stories she’d heard from Kara about the way Alex used to take care of her.

Had that been what the fight was about? Has she wanted to turn away some kid that Alex wanted to take in? She couldn’t see it. Not in the middle of a war zone, not with the world coming to an end. She looked around the bar and took in the people there. People she helped all the time. She liked helping people. Liked taking care of people.

So, what was it? Why did the idea of having kids bother her so much?

She thought back to the arguments with Emily. She’d been young and scared, because who wants to have kids when they are twenty-two? But she’d been frustrated more than anything. She’d just kept wondering over and over again why she wasn’t enough for anyone.

Maggie stopped dead, her hand suspended half way to her beer as the realization rolled over her of exactly what it was that had made her hate the idea so much. The feeling that she should be enough. Not that she didn’t like kids, not that she didn’t want to have to take care of someone, but the idea that someone would only want kids because she wasn’t enough for them.

Which, well, if not wanting kids was a deal breaker, was sort of true. Kind of. But Jesus, how fucked up was she to be jealous of the idea of kids?

Maggie picked up her beer and took a drink, deciding this particular bit of fucked up was something else she should thank her papá for. The problem was, knowing where to assign blame didn’t help her with the question at hand. She could safely assume that, in the other timeline, there were no kids. She could safely assume that, because in the other timeline, this had been a source of friction in an otherwise happy relationship. She wasn’t sure she bought that this was the only issue she and Alex ever fought about, but she suspected it was possible that it was the only thing that was a major, recurring issue. But she knew herself well enough to know that if she ever had a kid, no matter how that happened, she wouldn’t be resentful after the fact.

If she knew that though, knew that she’d love a kid if she had one, then what, really, was the issue? Was it the feeling that she would never be enough for someone? Was it all the other compromises she’d have to make? She loved being a cop, but that came with so many risks. Would she have to give that up? She’d fought so hard to be who she was, and she couldn’t help but wonder how much of that she’d have to give up for kids.

Maybe Kara was more right than she knew. She said what worked in that world might not work in this one. Maybe that was her and Alex. Maybe she was so broken that she could only be happy in an equally broken world. But she didn’t want that to be true. She wanted to be happy. She wanted to fall in love and get married and wake up next to Alex every morning.

“Shit,” she muttered to herself, as she realized how easily Alex’s name rolled through her head, and how true it was. Because it was Alex when she pictured it now. Alex had replaced the poorly-defined day dream she’d had for years. Maggie wanted to blame Kara for that, and probably should at least a little bit with the way Kara had spent months talking Alex up before they’d actually met, but if she believed what Kara told her about the other timeline, it wasn’t much different there.

She wanted Alex. She’d gone to see Kara because she wanted to make sure that Alex would want her too, because she already knew Alex rejecting her would hurt. Picturing a life, a future without Alex in it made her feel like she was choking.

She needed to talk to someone about this, and aside from M’gann, she could only think of one other person who might be able to give her the perspective she needed, so she took out her phone, pulled up her contacts, and found the one she wanted, hitting the call button.

“¡Hola, mija!”

Maggie smiled at the sound of the cheerful voice of her aunt Juanita on the other end of the line. “Hola, Tiá. You have time to talk?”

“For you, cariña, always. What do you need?” Juanita asked.

“I need some advice,” Maggie said.

“Oh, advice. That sounds serious,” Juanita replied. “What’s wrong, mija?”

“I met a girl,” Maggie said.

“Oh, I can see how that must be so horrible for you. However will you survive?”

Maggie laughed. “Tiá,” she said. “I’m serious!”

“So am I, mi amor. A young, attractive lesbian, meeting a beautiful, captivating woman. I know the torture will last for decades. You’ll be sitting there, in the house you’ve finished paying off, surrounded by your grandchildren, and she, your wife of thirty-five years, will be laying with her head in your lap, telling you how beautiful she thinks you are, and you’ll still be wondering if she means in a romantically, or if the dating and the marriage and the children and the finger banging and the comiendo la papaya were all just as friends.”

Maggie sighed. “You’ve been on Tumblr again haven’t you, Tiá?”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. I’m forty-five, not dead. And there’s talk about rebooting Xena. I want to read all the fic when that happens.”

“I kind of hate that you know what fanfiction is,” Maggie said.

“Ay, cariña, be glad I do. If it wasn’t for Xena and Gabrielle, you might not have had an embarrassing lesbiana Tiá to take you in.”

“I’ll be sure to send Lucy Lawless a thank you note any day now.”

“Just don’t send her a toaster oven. I’m sure she has enough by now.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maggie said.

“My point is, your generation did not invent Lesbian Sheeping. Gay chicas were standing around trying to figure out if they were into each other before either of us were born.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Maggie said, doing her best to keep from laughing.

“Now, Marguerita, tell me what’s troubling you,” Juanita said.

“I really, really like this girl, Tiá,” Maggie said. “The rent the U-Haul on the second date kind of kind of like.”

“Oh, mija. No wonder you are calling me. Is it your Kara, this girl you are talking about?”

“No, Tiá, it’s Kara’s hermana,” Maggie said. “Her name is Alex, and she’s... um... she’s... she’s amazing. Just so beautiful it hurts to look at her, and my heart starts pounding the moment she walks into the room, and all I can think of is how much I want to kiss her.”

“Oh, Marguerita, you have enfermo de amor.”

“Yeah,” Maggie said, a little wistfully. “I think I do.”

“Then what’s the problem, cariña? Does she not like you back?”

“I think she does,” Maggie said. “Or at least, I think she’s starting too. It’s just... she wants kids, Tiá, and I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Oh, pobrecita, you never have it easy, do you?” Juanita asked, sympathy pouring from every word.

“I think I got myself into this one,” Maggie said. “But I don’t know what to do, Tiá.”

“We’ve been here before, cariña. But, if you want a better ending this time, I think you need to ask yourself a question. Why does it bother you, the idea of children? Be truthful.”

Maggie took a deep breath, bracing herself for the answer she was afraid to give. “I always wondered why I wasn’t enough,” she said. “Why couldn’t I ever be enough for anyone?”

“Oh, mi corazón, it’s moments like this I dearly wish I could cut your papi’s heart out with a spoon,” Juanita said. “Listen to me, Marguerita. I never, in my life before you, dreamed that I would be a mother. Never wanted to be. And then, one day, my pendejo brother calls me, screaming at me that it’s my fault somehow that his daughter is gay. And I knew, as soon as he said it, what I had to do. I said to him, ‘if you cannot love your hija for who she is and be proud of her, you bring her to me, and I will be her madre.’ That’s why he brought you to me, mija. And when my novia found out that I had taken you in, she left me.”

Maggie had to swallow a lump in her throat before she could speak. “Oh, Tiá,” she said. “I didn’t know.”

“No, no, mija. I’m not telling you this because I want you to feel guilty. I’m telling you this, because I want you to understand, that in the sixteen years since I spoke those words, I have not regretted for a single moment. Not when your mami spit in my face. Not when your papi called me a marimacha. Not when your abuela called me, screaming, telling me I deserved to burn in hell. You have been the most wonderful part of my life, Marguerita. You are not just mi sobrina, you are mi hija, have always been enough for me. I love you so much, and I never want to see you in pain.

“Now, this Alex… if you want to be with her, then you need to ask yourself a difficult question. Is it that you don’t want children? Or is it that you are afraid that she won’t have enough love for you, and the children? If it’s the first, then however wonderful she is, she’s not the right woman for you. But if it’s the second, then ask yourself if that’s a reasonable fear? Do you really believe that she doesn’t have enough love to go around? If you do, then again, she is not the woman for you. You are easy to love, mi corazón, but I will not deny that you need a very great deal of it. All beautiful things do.”

“Gracias, Tiá,” Maggie said as she wiped tears from her face.

“Do you know what you are going to do, mija?” Juanita asked.

“Yes,” Maggie said. “I think I’m going to stop crying, and then I’m going to text the girl.”

“Good for you, mija! ¡Buena suerte con la chica!”

“Well, this is getting to be a habit,” Cat said.

Kara looked up from the glass of Scotch she’d been staring into, and smiled, just a bit. “Good evening, Miss Grant,” she said.

“You know, considering all the things we’re doing together, I think I can let you call me Cat,” she said.

The small smile on Kara’s face turned into a full-blown grin. “I’m still not telling you my name, Cat.”

“I had to try,” Cat said, no hint of apology on her face or in her voice. “Mind if I join you?”

“It’s your balcony,” Kara said, “but I would definitely enjoy the company.”

“Good to know,” Cat said as she sat down. “You have another glass?”

Kara nodded and reached down, picking up a second tumbler and setting it on the table. Then she used the same mold from the interview, and a puff of her freeze breath to make an ice ball for Cat’s glass, before pouring her a couple of fingers of the Ardbeg.

“That’s a handy trick,” Cat said, taking the glass.

“Yeah. I’m a big hit at parties,” Kara replied before taking a sip of her Scotch.

“Rough day?” Cat asked.

“Does it show?”

“Well, day drinking is usually a sign. Want to talk about it?”

Kara looked up at her for a moment, considering the questions and her own mixed emotions, and gave a tiny shrug. “If I didn’t, I probably would have remembered to check to see if you were still here before I borrowed your balcony.”

“That’s… probably a bit more self-awareness than I was expecting.”

“Well,” Kara said. “Someone I admire… Someone who’s spent a lot of time teaching me how to be better, once told me that the key is never lying to yourself about who you are, what you want, and what you can and cannot do.” Kara watched Cat’s face as she said it, and if she hadn’t known Cat as well as she did, she would have missed the shock on Cat’s face, because Cat had said those exact words to her, not long after she’d hired Kara.

“That sounds like good advice,” Cat said.

“Oh, she always gives good advice,” Kara said. “She’s a bit nosey though.”

“We all have our faults.”

Kara turned and looked out over the city, taking another sip of her scotch before she spoke again. “I locked one of the people I love most in the universe in a cage last night,” she said. She turned back to Cat. “It’s a very nice cage. It’s got a TV, a jacuzzi tub, meal service.”

“But it’s still a cage,” Cat said.

“And I locked her in it,” Kara said. “Because she’s a criminal. Because my mother, and my father, and my aunt and my uncle, and all the leaders of Krypton made her a criminal.”

“What happened?”

“Our world was dying… No, that’s not right. We were killing it. Oh, we had help. There were people out there, more than willing to push the knife in, but our arrogance, or hubris… We ignored the warning signs. Abused the gift Rao had given us. In our greed and avarice, we drove mines deep in to the core of our world. We did it without hesitation, without thought for the future. Jor-El realized what was happening, but Aunt Astra was the only one who would listen, and when Uncle Jor was too weak, too cowed by the word of the council to act, Astra gathered a group of followers. People she’d worked with over the years. Some of them believed her. Most of them, probably. I think a few just hated the Houses and the Council, not that I can blame them.”

“What they planned to do… It was horrible, and in the end, Krypton was already too far gone for it to make a difference. But they tried. They defied the council, they broke the law, and in the end, someone died. But at least they tried.”

Kara closed her eyes. She could feel the tears running down her face, the lump in her throat, and when she spoke, the way her lip quivered. “My mother, my father, my aunt and uncle… They did nothing. They stood back and let it happen. And I lost everything, Cat. My family, my home, my culture, my entire world. It was just wiped from the stars, and I saw it happen. I watched it. Thirty billion people died, and it was just me and Kal-El, and then, when I got here, he didn’t need me. He… He just abandoned me.”

She felt Cat’s arms slip around her, and pull her close, and she rested her head on Cat’s shoulder.

“Shhh…” Cat whispered.

Kara slipped her arms around Cat, holding her as tightly as she dared. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m here. Just let it out.”

“I talked her into surrendering. I begged her. I promised her she’d be safe.”

“Something happened?” Cat asked.

“General Lane tried to take them,” Kara said. “I stopped it, but if someone hadn’t warned me… I can’t lose Astra again,” Kara said. “I can’t.”

Cat reached up, stroking Kara’s hair. “We won’t let it happen,” she said. “I promise.”

Kara closed her eyes, leaning into Cat’s touch. She knew the promise was empty, that as powerful as Cat was, the forces aligned against them were nearly unstoppable, but it didn’t matter. Hearing Cat say it, she believed it, and she felt just a bit of the weight of fifty-three universes lift off her shoulders.

#supergirl #supercat #supercanary #sanvers #fanfiction #the shape of things to come #kara danvers #alex danvers #cat grant #maggie sawyer #sara lance #j'onn j'onzz #susan vasquez #lois lane #clark kent #james olsen #winn schott jr.#future shock

3 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Foundation Delivers the Best of Star Trek and Game of Thrones

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Foundation article contains spoilers.

Don’t sleep on Foundation, Apple TV+’s excellent adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s once-thought-to-be-unfilmable hard science fiction novel series that chronicles the 1,000-year fall of a galactic empire. The story that was long considered too expansive for Hollywood (although many have tried) finds the perfect home on TV in the hands of creators David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, Krypton) and Josh Friedman (Snowpiercer, Avatar 2). They’ve taken the hefty source material that sometimes reads like half-history book half-math dissertation and translated it into an entertaining drama that resembles something closer to Star Trek or Game of Thrones. The result is an adaptation that’s generally faithful to Asimov’s original work, but that also expands on events in interesting ways that the exposition-heavy novel didn’t in 1951. (But expect a few radical changes along the way, too.)

Many sci-fi fans consider Foundation to be the finest book ever written in the genre, so you might be familiar with the premise even if you’ve never read the novel. But here’s a primer: When professor Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) develops a new branch of mathematics called psychohistory, which can predict the future of large societies, it leads to panic in the powerful Galactic Empire. Hari’s math predicts the fall of the 12,000-year-old empire in just 500 short years, which will lead to a 30,000-year dark age…unless the empire listens to him and helps him create the Encyclopedia Galactica, an archive of all human knowledge for those who survive the dark age to find. Yes, either way, the empire is doomed to collapse, but Hari’s plan could cut that dark age down to just 1,000 years of war, bloodshed, and death. While the empire’s rulers consider executing Hari for heresy, they instead decide to exile him and his followers to the remote planet Terminus, where Hari can build The Foundation and begin the work of compiling the knowledge they need to save future generations. Just in case.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

All this setup plays out in the first two episodes of the series through the perspective of young Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), a brilliant mathematician who decides to leave her home world (where studying the sciences and reading books are punishable by death) to work with Hari on the planet Trantor, the totalitarian capital of the Galactic Empire. It’s through Gaal’s eyes that we step into this world of intellectuals and power-hungry emperors, and while Harris puts in a nuanced performance as calculating Hari, it’s Llobell as Gaal who provides the heart of the show.

From the start, Gaal is an outsider, someone who always seems two steps behind Hari, but that’s because he’s spent years studying the numbers and making the plans which twist and turn throughout the 10-episode series. Goyer and Friedman do a great job of slowly drip feeding this universe to newcomers through Gaal, sometimes a little too slowly in the case of the first episode. But stick with it because the rest of the episodes open things up considerably, revealing a galaxy rich in detail and made all the more beautiful by the quality of the visual effects that make Foundation look it was created on a blockbuster budget. Seriously, even Stanley Kubrick and George Lucas would be impressed by some of the panning shots of ships floating through space.

But don’t go into Foundation expecting Star Wars. The story, which is rich in dense dialogue and hidden meanings, bides its time, and can feel like a bit of a puzzle box, especially when the show starts jumping between characters and settings and time periods. But even when things feel convoluted, the puzzle pieces and the pictures they reveal are almost always interesting.

What begins with Gaal and Hari soon expands to an ensemble cast of characters who are either trying to accomplish the Foundation’s mission or are actively working against it. The latter is the main motivation of the three emperors who rule over the galaxy (one of the big changes to the source material). Lee Pace is unpredictable and frightening as Brother Day, the true man in power while Cassian Bilton (Brother Dawn) and Terrence Mann (Brother Dusk) sit to his left and right in the throne room. As you can imagine, the triumvirate is a contentious environment, especially when a disaster on Trantor demands swift action from the empire. Power struggles from within and beyond the empire’s borders will bring a smile to the faces of Game of Thrones fans who missed the weekly machinations, betrayals, and strategy meetings. Indeed, the “Brothers” are chess players and Pace is the king piece everyone wants to topple.

While the show emphasizes science, philosophy, and politics over space battles, that doesn’t mean you’ll be starved for action, especially when it comes to life on Terminus, where the fledgling Foundation faces many dangers, both from the planet’s unforgiving surface and factions with a bone to pick with the empire. It’s during a precarious situation for the Foundation that we get to Salvor Hardin, the multi-layered “action hero” of the show played by Leah Harvey. To say more about her would be a spoiler for newcomers. But she’s great.

On the spectrum of science fiction, Foundation feels closer to Star Trek, centering on characters who are methodical and critical thinkers over space wizards with laser swords. It values discovery over warfare, exploring and settling planets over blowing them up. That said, it’s by chasing a more high-concept Star Trek feel that Foundation takes liberties with the source material that might turn off long time fans of the book. But these changes really work to make an engrossing work of science fiction for television. As Gaal and Hari quickly learn as they set out on their long trip to Terminus, sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good.

The first two episodes of Foundation premiere on Friday, Sept. 24 on Apple TV+.

The post Foundation Delivers the Best of Star Trek and Game of Thrones appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3CByAHi

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

0 notes

godemperor307 · 6 years

Text

I’m just a Luthor with a Super

Supergirl.

She was Earth's greatest champion. She had risked her life many times over for Lena, and indeed their whole world, despite not being from it. In quiet moments, Lena enjoyed silently admiring the hero from afar, but she knew it was far deeper than that. Supergirl's muscles, powerful figure, red S on her chest. It all made Lena blush and she considered it a miracle no one had caught on to her barely-concealed crush, especially during the day she unveiled the statue in Supergirl's honor.

Of course Lena was not stupid. Why would such a kind and wonderful hero date a Luthor? I'm just a Luthor. Supergirl was with that Mon-el boy, last I heard but that seems to have ended. No...I dare not hope to dream. I dare not think about her pretty blonde hair, soft face, kissable lips-STOP. What is wrong with me? I am a Luthor, not a One Direction fan. Yet Supergirl did have that effect and Lena wondered silently just how many girls she had managed to swoon. Oh who am I kidding? She's Supergirl. Every baby-gay is into her. Every baby-bi too.

Lena knew she would eventually have to break things off with James. He was nice, and treated her right but he clearly refused to take the hint. All she ever talked about with him was Supergirl (and Superman. He is the Jimmy Olsen after all. He knows a lot about the Kryptonians). He simply could not compete with her true crush, and it was unfair of him to even begin to try, or for her to continue stringing him along (to be fair it is extremely difficult to compete with Supergirl). Kara Danvers, her bestest friend in the whole wide world always seemed flustered as well whenever Supergirl became a topic. I wonder why that is? Questions for later.

Lena had three friends in the city, Kara Sam and Supergirl. It still warmed her heart to this day when Kara promised to protect her. But how can you protect me better than Supergirl protects all of us, Kara? I love you but you don't even begin to compare. I should call her. Get me in contact with Supergirl, even if I can just befriend her a little.

She grabbed her phone and began dialing the number.

"Oh my gosh, Lena. I'm so sorry, I forgot our lunch-date!"

Lena giggled at her best friend, "It's more than ok, Kar. But I was just thinking....it doesn't really matter, it's a silly idea-"

"No, tell me! Maybe I can help." Aw, Kara. Always wanting to help. She reminds me of Supergirl so much.

"Well...I was wondering...ifyoucouldcallsupergirlformesoicankissher-" Wow. Smooth.

"W-what?"

Lena blushed and stammered "Uh.....uh-um...I was wondering...if you could call Supergirl...-you know her, right?-and get me in contact with her because...I have things to talk about with her...Sciency things."

"Ohhh..." Kara laughed. "Of course! What are besties for? Supergirl is great. She's a badass." I know, Kar. I know. "Maybe you guys will, ya know, hit it off. I mean you guys are friends already, you know what I mean. Doesn't hurt to be more friendly, I mean- that came out wrong-"

Lena laughed softly at her friend's awkward rambling. "I know what you meant. Tell her to meet me at my office."

"Ok Lena! So good to hear from you!"

"You too, Kara."

Only a few moments later, Lena heard a whooshing sound, as the caped heroine swooped in and landed. Lena started to stare at the blonde's cheeks, and bright eyes. God....I am so freaking Bi right now.... I mean I'm always bi...shut up brain.

"Miss Luthor....you wished to see me?" Are you really blushing like a schoolgirl right now? Idiot.

"Y-yes....Erm...It has occurred me that you and I have saved the city at least twice together, yet I barely know anything about you. What's your name? Why did you only reveal yourself 3 years ago? What are your hobbies? Your name can't literally just be Supergirl."

"...You're absolutely right, Miss Luthor. I have been quite disrespectful to you." God, even her voice is like a goddess's....What the hell are you doing Lena? You don't need to know any of this. She's perfect how she is.

"I am from a planet called Krypton. I was actually originally sent to Earth to protect Superman, my cousin. But....my ship was trapped in another dimension and could not arrive here until my cousin was already grown up and saving others. I wished to be just a normal girl....but I decided I could not keep living a lie and denying who I really am." Lena sighed in awe, never considering how hard it must have been to lose one's entire planet only to end up having to fit in to survive on another.

"I am sorry, Supergirl. I hope you are now at peace with yourself. Of course everyone knows the dumpster fire that is my life."

"Yes Kara Danvers told me much about you." Supergirl said, as she smiled warmly.

"She did?" She did?

"Of course, Miss Luthor. That's how I keep saving you just in time, after all."

"Well you protect everyone, right? I can't be that important!"

"Don't underestimate yourself, Miss Luthor. You helped me save the whole world twice. You were voted the smartest woman on the planet three times."

"You were voted the most beautiful." Lena muttered, pouting cutely. "And you definitely deserved that." Lena whispered, blushing.

Supergirl laughed. "Please allow a hero some humility." Shit. Super-hearing. I forgot.

"Super-hearing! That reminds me, what powers do you have that you haven't used on TV yet?"

"Well, Kryptonians are essentially immortal. I won't age, at least not for a very long time."

"That is sad...."

"It's ok, Miss Luthor. According to Imra, your accomplishments last through the centuries. In a way, that is true immortality."

"I suppose you're right." Lena smiled at her friend, feeling a lot better. Supergirl was truly the giver of hope. She would never lie, never let her down, never make her feel unworthy. Never get drunk and hit her, or say she was too busy hanging out with Kara. Supergirl was super-amazing.

Lena could not wait any longer. She started moving closer and closer, wanting to feel the alien woman's warmth and grip. Her powerful warrior body.

"I am truly sorry about Mon-El. I know how much he meant to you."

"Do you? Ah, Kara told you....Yes I had to send him away but it was to save his life. Then he returned, with a wife. I realize now that...perhaps i over-idealized our relationship in a way. Perhaps the fairer sex is an option too."

"You're-?"

"I don't know, Miss Luthor. That's...not a problem on this planet, right?"

"O-of course not!" If only you knew....

"Someone has said things to me that made me....rethink all my interactions with other women. Even Mon El's new wife. I called her a goddess." You're a goddess!

"I'm bisexual. Always knew it. Only told Lex, Sam and Kara before now. It is a tremendous weight off my shoulders to tell you."

"I'm sure you will find someone amazing, Miss Luthor. You are a badass." I did. Supergirl grinned. Stop it, you cutie. I am gonna have a heart attack.

"Do you ever...get scared? Scared you won't make it home? This job...it can be a lonely one."

"Reign beat that fear into me, I think. She is the most powerful enemy I have ever faced. And yet, I'm still scared every single day, Miss."

""W-why? You're literally the Girl of Steel."

"Doesn't mean I'm invulnerable. There are beings out there, not just Reign who could tear our Earth in half without even trying. My war....our war...is to protect it for as long as we possibly can."

"Even so.....It doesn't have to be so lonely. I can help...let me help you, Supergirl." She began wrapping her arms around the blonde, squeezing her tight. Supergirl gladly accepted the hug.

"By the way..."

"Hm?" Supergirl hummed. The vibration made Lena slightly shiver in pleasure.

"You should call me Lena."

"Very well, Lena." Lena's mouth broadened in an almost painful grin, hearing her name from Supergirl's sexy lips. I love you so much.

As they began parting, Supergirl started to lean back in, then thought better of it. Lena curiously wondered why. Did she-No. There's no way....And yet I cannot look away. Her beautiful pink lips are just so kissable. Her rosy cheeks beg to be pinched. Her sexy chest was just pressing into her own.

Lena was red like a tomato by now...yet she could not stop herself, despite James, despite what Kara might think, despite her own self-esteem and self-hate. Her crush, the greatest hero Earth had ever seen, the Girl of Steel, the completely sexy, beautiful, blonde bombshell. She had to kiss those lips, and this seemed like the best chance she would ever have, in the woman's strong arms, staring into her bright blue eyes- It was finally happening. She felt the Kryptonian's lips on her own. To her ever-astounding surprise, Supergirl did not pull away and instead returned the soft, gentle kissing. She had been in love with the blonde alien going on three years, and she was finally tasting her lips. A sharp electrical feeling jolted through her entire body. She had never been kissed like this, not even by Jack. This was unlike any kiss she had ever had. She never wanted it to end, yet knew she had to breath eventually. Pulling away for air was the hardest decision of her life.

"Lena..." She was staring at her with utter shock.

Oh no....I will never forgive myself if she hates me for this. I screwed up! Damn it! Of course a Luthor and a Super would never work out!

"Lena, what was that for?" She asked softly.

"I....Christ, Supergirl....I just love you so damn much! Ever since you first showed up! I know I'm with James, I know there's probably no chance for us, but I can't help it!" She collapsed into her chair, sobbing. Supergirl rushed to her side.

"Hey, Lena. no, no, no. Don't cry. I was just surprised. I'm not angry with you. Actually, thank you for the kiss. It was...nice." Nice? I really screwed up! She doesn't like me like that! Lena cried harder, as Supergirl again cradled her in those powerful alien arms.

"My sister is gay and I was shocked at first too. I'm truly sorry you felt you could not tell me about this sooner. I am truly a bad friend." Supergirl's sister? She has a sister? Wait...

Lena sniffled, "It's not y-your fault. I'm the one who's gone and...f-fallen for a Super, despite being a Luthor."

"Is that what this is about? You're so silly, Lena! I promised you already, that I would always protect you." What? Wait.....WHAT?

Before Lena could respond to such a reveal, the blonde's lips pressed upon her own.

"I'm so sorry, Lena that I could not tell you sooner. I love you. I always will love you, my Lena."

#supercorp #Karlena #Lena Luthor #Lesbian love #Supergirl #twentygayteen

4 notes · View notes

coeurdastronaute · 6 years

Text

Either/Or: Krypton

Supercorp AU where Krypton never exploded but Kara & Lena still meet & fall in love anyways. Whether Kara still ends coming to earth or Lena goes to Krypton.

It was the squint of light that finally reached her eyes that woke her, though she battled it tiredly, digging her head into her pillow. The long night mingled in her bones, making itself nice and cozy in the sheets of the bed, tangling up in her limbs and keeping her disinterested in leaving. Until she remembered.

With a start, a messy head of curls shot up, slightly dazed and confused at the quick movement, slow thoughts, and uncooperative limbs. A hand slapped her own eye as she misjudged distance and tried to rub it while the day woke well ahead of the body, so that even the normal morning song was already finished, further confusing the poor, hard working artist-in-training.

“I’m late,” she coughed to herself, still unable to move herself until her limbs caught up, and then surpassed her thoughts. “Rao no, not today. No no no nonononono.”

Books tumbled to the floor as legs knotted into themselves earning a body on the ground with a loud oomph. Kara pushed herself up, quickly shoving her papers and books together again, hoping that her newest transponder and tablet weren’t broken again as they all were put back onto the pile of her bed while she looked for pants.

She was a rarity, for her age. Done with her core schooling, and even past her testing, she was into her apprenticeship, which was very different than her friends. She got lost for hours in the Great Archives, while others trained with the Warriors or studied with the Thinkers, and whenever asked what she did, all she could say was that she looked for truth and purpose, though it was less tangible than calluses and experiments.

There were bruises though still.

“Clothes. I need clothes,” she muttered, frantically tugging at anything she could get her hands on until she was at least not completely naked. She did, however, in the process of getting dressed, knock over a pile of books, some instruments, and the astrolabe on her desk.

The clock told her she was so late it was going to be impossible to catch up, though that didn’t stop her from trying. Long legs leaped over her bed as she sprinted from one side of her room to the other, slamming into the door before opening it and continuing the marathon through the halls of her ancestral home.

It was in this way that she differed from others her age as well. While most left home, moved in with a group from their trade, or friends, Kara remained in the giant citadel that was her family home as was required by her name and lineage. It only made her trip into Argo City even more difficult though. On any other day, she loved her home. Today, when she needed to get downtown quickly, it was a prison.

No one remained at all, their dwelling silent. Her mother was gone for the day, her father, most likely left before her. It was maddening to even imagine they wouldn’t wake her. But still, Kara didn’t have time to think of her own mistakes. Instead, she tapped the button to the lift impatiently.

Her foot tapped as she slowly descended until she prepared herself a few floors before the end, ready to take off once they doors opened again.

The Loop was the quickest method of travel, and it still felt like a million years. As soon as her feet touched ground at the closest station downtown, she didn’t breathe. Like that, she was gone as soon as it opened, weaving her way through the streets toward the transportation, hoping she could make up any sort of already lost time.

Her mother was going to kill her, surely.

“I’m sorry!” she yelped, barely dodging a neighbor. “I’m late. Hello, Jran Shara. Apologies,” she bowed her head and slowed, showing the utmost respect she could in her frantic state to the bespeckled, elderly woman who worked with her mother. “Lovely day today.”

Not kill her, but definitely give her that exasperated sigh and look. But it wasn’t Kara’s fault other than it being completely her fault. She didn’t really have time for the ambassadorship program. She didn’t feel the need to spend her time with some aliens from Earth on an anthropological and political excursion. In just six lorakh she would finish her apprenticeship in the archives, and the final part of her studies was exhaustively complete. But Kara would support her mother and father because it was not just expected, but rather something that she believed in more than anything. That duty, the honor of their deeds.

“And that is the true purpose of everything we strive to accomplish,” Kara’s mother addressed the crowd formed to welcome the first ship from Earth. “We seek to welcome these ambassadors and accomplish a peace between our worlds. For while the universe is vast and dark, there is light in the form of our friendships, holding hands across the infinite expanse. We can learn so much from new cultures, and it is in this that I am overjoyed to welcome the team from Earth.”

Applause rang out in a steady wave as Kara clapped and wiggled through the crowds toward her father on the side of the stage.

“As we once descended from great explorers and minds, all of which created our beautiful home and discovered our planet, we now endeavor to become like them once again, open in our minds and hearts to the unlimited potential that rests within every species.”

“You nearly missed it,” her father smiled without taking his eyes off of his wife.

“I know. I’m sorry,” she grumbled, catching her breath. “My alarm didn’t go off, and I was up late in the Archives. Did she notice?”

As if she heard them amidst the clamor, the leader of the law council gave a small smile to her family at the edge of the crowd.

“I told her you were here somewhere,” he grinned conspiratorially before putting his arm around his daughter as she hugged his side. “Come on, let’s go. Just tell her you were preparing our home for our guest.”

“Wait, one is staying with us?” Kara furrowed at the news.

“I thought I told you…” Zor-El wondered to himself. “You’ve been so busy lately, out in the world. I’m sure I told you.”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Right, well. You won’t notice. We have plenty of room and she’ll be working with me, mostly.”

Before Kara could argue the point, she felt her feet carry her toward her mother. It wouldn’t matter anyway. It seemed oddly natural that they would host someone, with her mother spearheading this plan for expanding their network. Kara almost kicked herself for not considering it until that moment.

“Great speech, Mom,” she smiled as Alura hugged her.

“The part you caught, right?”

“Yes, that part especially.” Kara blushed slightly, offering a furtive grin.

“I was just telling our daughter about the new addition to our family,” Zor-El supplied as he kissed his wife’s temple. “It seems I forgot.”

“I know you’re busy,” her mother tried. “And I wouldn’t ask you to take time away from your studies. You won’t--”

“It’s fine, I promise,” Kara cut her off quickly. “I’m excited. This is a huge day for our people and this will be great.”

“Come on then. Let’s go take those last few steps toward progress, shall we?”

“I’m actually late for the Archives. Pal-Kann has assignments for me.”

The parents shared a look until her father nodded. Her mother squeezed her arm and smiled fondly.

“Work well. Learn everything.”

They touched foreheads and Kara smiled broadly before sprinting off.

“Do you ever remember a moment when she walked?” Alura sighed.

“Not at all.”

Never before in the history of words had overwhelmed felt so fitting and encompassing of a feeling. It took two months of travelling to meet the new sister world. It took twelve years of diplomacy to even create the trip and expand each other’s culture. But still, even with the two years spent preparing, Lena Luthor felt largely out of her element and exceedingly dazzled by everything she saw.

How could she not be blown away by the society presented? How could she not be mesmerized and intrigued by the world that stretched higher than she’d ever imagined, and more advanced than humanly possible? It was her own Christmas, but better.

And it was a miracle she even got to make the trip.

Younger by almost twenty years to the other youngest members of the exchange crew, she earned her spot by being the most brilliant mind the collective universities and powers to be could find. While there were physicists and astronomers, and engineers and doctors, she was not just the science, she was the tech wizard, the genius that her father promised and had a heavy hand in getting seat.

But it was supposed to be her brother, though as Lionel’s favorite, Lena won out over his duty to their family’s company. She saw how much it hurt him, and though she tried to offer it to him, an act that actually hurt, no matter how much she tried to convince herself that selflessness was a virtue, he respected his father’s wishes and let her keep it.

And at the moment, standing in the streets of the capital of an advanced alien planet, Lena wanted to show him so badly while at the same time, already had a thousand questions of her hosts, forgetting her brother entirety.

Slowly, the groups were formed as hosts were introduced to their exchanges. Lena waited for her’s, the noble house of El, an esteemed, ancient family with a knack for diplomacy and technology. She was grateful for the placement, excited to work with Zor-El, the head of a research group, though her father urged her to shadow Alura, the somewhat political leader of the planet.

Lena just wanted to know what fuel they used for the ships.

“Lena of the House of Luthor?”

“Yes, yes, hello,” she snapped back from marvelling at the skyline and every single thing that existed.

She was met with two of the most beautiful, smiling, angelic faces she’d ever seen, both beaming at her kindly, welcoming her. The man, tall, slender faced with a bushy black beard and warm brown eyes waited for her to catch her wits. The blonde, blue eyed woman couldn’t.

“We are so happy to hear of your safe arrival. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“It is an honor to be here with you,” Lena smiled and nodded, bowing as she was instructed per their liaison. “Zor-El, Alura.”

“Your travels were nice?”

“They were. Your city is…” she looked around again and felt as if her lungs were filled to dangerous capacity. “Its one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen.”

“We have many things to show you, but we thought today we would allow you to adjust,” the husband explained while she continued to look around, eyes wide and searching. “Your things are on the way to our home already. Perhaps a stroll and small tour. I’m sure you will want to stretch your legs after two months in a confined space.”

“I’m not keeping you from your work, am I? “

“No, no,” Alura promised, wrapping her arm around Lena’s as she began to guide her. “We have been planning this for many years. We want you to learn from us as we will learn from you, therefore we are more lenient about time when it comes to those housing guests.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’ll message our daughter to be home at a good hour,” Zor-El excused himself to the side as he messaged somehow. “And now we can begin. Welcome to Krypton, Lena of House of Luthor.”

There was never a shortage of reading material while she worked on finishing her work in the Archives. Tasked with keeping the history of their world, tasked with helping all of the guilds with their research, tasked with creating the past and helping the future, Kara was constantly behind in reading and learning.

Normally, she didn’t get back until much later. Just something about losing track of time kept her on a weird schedule. But she had obligations, and so she made it back with her arms full of more books, more assignments.

Normally, the house was quiet. From time to time, friends and even her aunt might stop by for a dinner or game night. Sometimes there were associates who visited and who brought their families. But most of the time, the House of El was quiet. Not lonely, not sullen, not scary, but rather just a happy kind of solitude.

But it wasn’t a normal day, and as Kara dropped her books on a table as she walked through their home, she didn’t have to strain her ears much to hear the laughter and talking coming from outside. It was a familiar sound that she hadn’t missed until she heard it again, one that was all memories of long nights and fun parties with good friends and family

The doors were open, the windows all smelled like the flowers out on the edge of their land, the oldest plot of land on their planet, owned by the family since the beginning of time, since the beginning of the history as they all knew it. It was the honor of their house to be known as a home to thinkers and talkers alike. Kara had a pride in their ability to converse and bring together so many unique people in its history. Tonight was no different, and perhaps one of the most important yet.

“So you use finite resources to propel all manner of transportation and infrastructure?”

“Yes.”

“But how will that affect the composition of the planet?”

“Badly.” They laughed as Kara finally snuck out to meet them. “There are large movements to use renewable resources, but convenience is paramount.”

“In all of my studies of humans, I’ve found that pragmatism is often at a loss to the selfish interests of the few,” her father waxed. “How do you combat that? Or can you?”

“I can’t say that my father isn’t one of them. Money and power often interrupt the idea of the future.”

“But you already have a grasp on such advanced theories and problems.”

“I’m trying,” she smiled politely. “Hopefully I can find a balance to make evolution a little less painful.”

“Oh, Kara! Honey, hello,” her mother greeted, the first to spot her lurking and listening. “You made it home early.”

“Wouldn’t want to miss our guest’s first night.”

She kissed her mother’s cheek and earned a smile from her father. That was the last thing she remembered doing, because then she looked at the guest and she was certain all words kind of didn’t make words any longer. Letters existed and she had a few, both her common language and the six she’d picked up throughout her studies all smashed together to create untranslatable feelings.

Her clothes were foreign, her look was… she wasn’t Kryptonian. Her eyes were this deep green, evident even in the light of the evening sky. Kara wasn’t sure she’d ever seen someone who looked like that, nor was she certain that someone made her heart skip in an instant.

“This is Lena Luthor. Just Luthor. No house,” her father explained. “I’ve already learned a lot about their social structure.”

Kara grinned at how excited he was to learn new things. She was certain that he probably bombarded her with questions. She had about a thousand to ask as well, though none came to mind in that instant.

“Kara,” she held out her hand as she’d read was custom. “It’s nice to meet you, Lena.”

“Your parents have told me a lot about you,” she smiled and Kara was a goner.

It wasn’t uncommon to see other people often. She was young, and they had parties and she saw people in a sometimes romantic way. She’d never seen anyone or looked at anyone like how she must have been looking at this alien.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

“I was just answering a few questions. And asking a few, if I’m being honest.”

“It sounds like you two will grow bored after just a few days.”

“I don’t think I could run out of questions here,” she laughed and watched as Kara sat across from her. “I don’t know if you did this, but kids, back on Earth, they ask so many questions that it’s maddening. Why is the sky blue? Where does the garbage go? Do trees have feelings?”

“Do they?” Kara asked eagerly.

“Some trees have roots that are thousands of feet long and connect each other across large distances. I don’t know if they feel, but they must.”

“Good. I like that.”

“I feel like a child again, now that I’m here,” Lena explained. “I want to know how cars go and why the sky is this color.”

That was it. One minute, and Kara was mesmerized. She was absolutely taken with the stranger and she didn’t even realize how gone she was. But even after she finished talking, Kara stared and waited for more words, until her father cleared his throat.

“Kara is training to take over the Archives. It’s a coveted position,” Alura explained as she motioned for Lena to take a seat once again.

“Though she has the brain for the thinking guild,” her father sighed, one of the great tragedies of his rather perfect life.

For years, his daughter shadowed him, showed a knack for thinking, for science, for theory, for experimentation, and yet, when she was selected for the position, one that any parent would have been amazed to see, he felt a pang of loss. She wasn’t his any longer. Now, she belonged to their city and their past.

“The Archives? What does that mean?”

“They explained the guilds?” Kara asked, sitting back and stealing a bit of food from the plates between them. She watched Lena nod. “My mother is a Mediator, devoted to law. My father is a thinker, devoted to the sciences. I am an Archivist, devoted to all.”

“All of the guilds?” Lena furrowed.

“There are twelve of us. One in each of the cities. It’s… it’s complicated. But I can show you one day. For now, it just means that I study and learn and collect.”

“I’d love that.”

“It appears I'm outnumbered even more,” her father grinned and drank his wine.

From across the porch, Kara smiled at him before making the fatal mistake of looking back at Lena of house Luthor, and she was gone once again. She’d read thousands of books. She’d spent hours observing the clouds and calculating the stars and documenting their stories, and yet she’d never, in all of her time, in all of history, in all of the shared consciousness of her race, noted anything like the feeling she got when she looked at the stranger.

She would consult the Archives in the morning, she decided as she stole another treat though her mother gave her a look for not sharing well enough. She would look in the compiled histories for what it could mean to be intrigued and absolutely mesmerized by someone who hadn’t said twenty words.

By far, the biggest surprise of her arrival to Krypton had not been the technology or the beauty of it, nor was it the kindness of the people or the graciousness to which they enacted to welcome their guests. The biggest surprise was how many times Kara could stumble and stutter and wave her hands while she spoke passionately about things, while everyone else seemed so effortlessly graceful and precise. She somehow managed to find the one Kryptonian that was so very human it was almost endearing.

As the evening set in, as the wine was shared and the delicious treats were passed, as topics were debated and discussed, Lena found herself often looking toward the girl who had a shy grin and an air of almost whimsy about her ideas. She was everything Lena never imagined one person to hold within themselves, and that was just after a few hours. Hair wild, skin of her shoulders on display, the delicate bones of her collar precise and even, eyes deep brown, chin cleft and regal, she was perfection, plain and simple.

“It is getting late,” Zor-El realized as he saw Lena attempt to stifle another yawn. She smiled politely though through it. “We have been rude to keep you up after your trip.”

“I’m sure this is a lot to process,” Alura agreed. “And we have tried to solve the entire galaxy’s problems in one night and two bottles of wine.”

“A noble effort,” Lena chuckled.

“Kara, could you show Lena to her rooms?” the mother asked, earning a little jump. “We’ll clean up.”

“Oh, yes. Yeah, I could do that,” she nodded and stood quickly.

Lena couldn’t help but smile. Something about Kara was just so… good. She felt like sunshine. She reminded her of those little puppies in the pet store window that her father would never let her have despite pleading with him for months leading up to her birthday and Christmas. Kara was the perfect little cocker spaniel with her paws pressed against the window, and the thought made Lena warm.

But she blamed it on the wine and the long day and the inability of her brain to process all that had happened.

“Thank you for having me,” Lena offered to the parents. “I know that this is an act of faith between our worlds, and I am deeply humbled and honored to be here.”

“It’s our pleasure to have you,” the father bowed slightly.

“You are so full of hope,” Alura smiled and held Lena’s shoulders, a move that scared her slightly, though she did not show it. “Go rest. Tomorrow your universe gets much larger.”

With the nods and thanks, Lena waited as the family spoke in their language before she finally followed her guide from the back and into the house that she barely got to see before being whisked outside to be swept off of her feet by the hospitality presented to her.

Though she wanted to take it all in, she didn’t have the brainpower to learn anything else, and she certainly was devoting more than she’d admit to thinking of something to say to the girl who appeared and made her feel at ease.

Instead of words, she just followed dumbly.

A few steps ahead of her, Kara racked her brain for some kind of combination of words that would sound clever and interesting, though she came up with absolutely nothing, and so she gave up in favor of just any words to fill the quiet.

“Our home is the oldest on the planet. It started smaller, but grew and was remodeled after the third war,” she explained as the ascended a staircase. “My parents usually host guests of honor for that reason. And all of our family are welcome here at anytime. Not that you’re not a guest of honor. I mean. You are. Usually meant we have in the past.”

“I get it,” Lena promised. “This place is beautiful.”

“I’ll make sure to give you a proper tour in the daylight. We have you in the second tower. It will have everything you need and the view in the morning is beautiful. You can see the city twinkling as the sun rises.”

“It sounds spectacular.”

“If you do need anything,” she paused. “I’m not far. In fact. This is, uh, my room,” Kara opened the door and remembered the state she left it in after her sprint of the morning. “Nothing interesting in there.”

“Could I look, still?”

“Oh, yeah, um, sure.”

Idiot, Kara berated herself. She wasn’t sure why she agreed, except she did and it was too late.

Kara stood in the door and watched Lena take tentative steps forward before she stopped and simply started to look. The inhabitant couldn’t remember the last time she truly scrutinized her own room, and now it felt oddly embarrassing.

The bed was unmade. The windows were wide open, allowing the chill of the night to creep in through the breeze that seemed perpetual so far from the city. The shelves were full of trinkets while the floor was stacked with books. The large computer desk in the corner glowed only slightly, but still made itself known. Kara watched Lena pick up a book from the ground and trace her hand along the page before picking up another.

“It’s amazing how similar some things are to us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your room looks like my workshop,” Lena turned and smiled. “Could you tell me why you have paper books and why one of them is a poetry anthology?”

“The Archives houses all knowledge. It is an old artform, but it is our job to guard all knowledge accumulated, even those that have been forgotten,” Kara shrugged, hurriedly grabbing both books. “And I thought it was important to learn of your culture. These are done in a way I’m not familiar. No one knows them and can decipher them. They don’t make sense, but they feel nice.”

“That’s exactly what a poem is.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s a feeling. Metaphor. Symbolism. I don’t read much of them. Barely have time to read research let alone for pleasure,” she smiled and finally looked back at Kara from the books that’d been taken. “I’m sure it’s like your fiction or stories.”

“I will research those tomorrow,” Kara decided, gazing down at the words in her hand as she felt heavy under Lena’s glance. “Perhaps you can help me?”

“I don’t know how good I’d be at it. I’m more of a science person.”

“You have a different guild who could help me?”

“No. Well, kind of. But… Can we try to have this conversation again in the morning?” she chuckled. “I should think of a better way to explain it all.”

“You’re doing fine,” Kara pressed eagerly, wanting more information.

“Sometimes we refer to how people think by their chosen profession. So when I said I might not be good at it, I just meant my brain thinks a certain way that might not be good at poems.”

“Can’t you do both?”

“I suppose I can, we just don’t. Or rather, I don’t.”

“One of my favorite writers of stories here is a Laborer. He does both.”

“Yes, we can do both. I just meant me, personally.”

“You are a science brain?” Kara furrowed. “Perhaps you can just read it in a different way?”

“I’ll try,” Lena promised with a deep breath. “I hope every conversation doesn’t feel this hard. My brain might explode.”

“Oh Rao! Does that happen often?”

“No,” she shook her head and chuckled to herself. “Not often.”

From the door, Kara nodded deeply before tossing the books onto her bed with a renewed interest in one of them. She scratched her neck and shifted her weight awkwardly.

“Should I show you your room?” she tried. “It’s not far. I just wanted you to not feel far.”

“Yes, please.”

“Just around the corner,” Kara promised, leading the way once again. “If you need anything, please find me. I’ll do whatever I can for you, Lena.”

“Thank you.”

“This is you,” she paused and opened the door down another hall. “I won’t distract you any longer.”

“They weren’t bad distractions.”

“Tomorrow, I make no promises.”

Both grinned at each other and stayed there longer than normal, longer than cordial, until it grew awkward with the realization that so much time had passed.

“Goodnight, Kara. Thank you.”

“Goodnight, Lena.”

For a full minute once the door was closed, Lena stood in the middle of her new home for the next year, and she felt dizzy with the idea that she was going to one day have to leave.

347 notes · View notes

this-sapphic-paradise · 6 years

Text

When Push Comes to Shove

Chapter 3 - The DEO

(AO3 link / please consider buying me a coffee ^^ )

"Agent Danvers." J'onn looks confusedly from Alex to Sam, then back at Alex. "What is Ms. Arias doing here?"

Giving Sam a small, reassuring smile, Alex tries to explain what happened the previous night, "Sir, I believe… I believe Sam might be Kryptonian." she says in one breath.

"Wait, did I hear it right??" Winn, who was walking back to his station right as Alex was talking, stops dead on his tracks to take part in the conversation. "Sam is Kryptonian too??? That's awesome!!! But I mean, first Superman, then Supergirl, then the prisoners at Fort Rozz, now Sam! How many Kryptonians are there on Earth?"

The look J'onn, Alex, and Sam give Winn makes it clear to him that he read the situation completely wrong. "W-What? It-It's not awesome?"

Sam fidgets under Winn's and J'onn's scrutinizing gazes, and she feels like fleeing, but she knows she can't; she knows that whatever is going on with her is dangerous -- she can feel it in her bones -- so she knows she needs to stay, and with the conviction of a woman who has to face countless self-entitled old men for a job, Sam squares her shoulders and says calmly, "The day Supergirl saved the city from being torpedoed by that submarine, a structure beam fell and trapped my daughter beneath it. I was so scared it was going to crush her that I just kept trying to lift it, and…and I did it. I felt the metal crushing under my hands, and I actually lifted it enough that she could crawl away--"

"But that may have countless other explanations." J'onn says, but the way Alex looks at him says there's more to the story. "I'm sorry, Ms. Arias. Please, continue."

Sharing a brief look with Alex, Sam continues, "Then the day that desperate mother tried to kill Lena by shooting at her -- you know, the day James Olsen was shot -- I got home that night and Ruby pointed out that I had a hole on my shirt. After I put her to bed, I checked the jacket I was wearing at the press conference and I found a piece of metal… It was the bullet completely flat, but I didn't feel it hitting me. I didn't feel anything."

Alex notices how Sam is balling her hands into fists, and all three agents can hear how hard she's fighting to keep her voice even. Without giving it a second thought, Alex gently runs her hand down Sam's arm, and waits until Sam unfolds her hand so she can hold it.

Feeling tears welling up in her eyes at the small act of kindness, Sam takes a moment to collect herself. "I, uh…" she clears her throat and tries again. "I've been having strange dreams since I saved Ruby… The first one started with me walking through an open field, and there's a lady there… She's beautiful…and she's wearing a blue gown, but seconds after she turns to face me, she turns into this horrifying monster… And, um, once I, uh… I had a hallucination…" Sam trails off, and she scratches the bridge of her nose just as something to distract the others and herself from the fact that she wants to cry. "I, uh, I was actually awake, and my daughter saw me whimpering on the bathroom floor…" she says looking down at her own feet. "This…woman, or creature, -- a different one from before -- told me, 'From Rao's fire you are born…and soon, you will reign'. I don't know what any of that means."

"Rao is my god," Supergirl says surprising everyone. With her hands on her waist, Kara walks toward the group with all the authority of a superhero, making Sam feel wildly uncomfortable; like she shouldn't be there, like this was all a big mistake. "Rao is the god from the main religion back at my home planet." Kara explains it further, glancing at her friends, silently asking them for an explanation of their own.

"Supergirl," Alex greets, and just by the way she looks at her sister, Kara knows there's a lot she needs to get ready for. "We-- Well, I think Sam…" Alex takes a deep intake of breath. "I think Sam is Kryptonian."

"What?" Kara scoffs in disbelief. "Th-That can't be."

"Believe me, I don’t want it to be true either." Sam says defensively, pulling her hand free from Alex so she can cross her arms protectively in front of her chest.

"N-No," Kara shakes her head; clearly having some difficulty wrapping her head around the sudden news. "No, that's not it. I mean… I just don’t think it's possible. I was a teenager when I was sent to Earth, and the only other pod sent out that day was Kal-El's. The planet exploded right after I left Krypton's orbit."

"Someone might have snuck in and sent Sam before you and Kal-El." J'onn offers. "But for now we must determine if Ms. Arias is in fact Kryptonian, and if she is, we need to figure out why her powers are only manifesting themselves now. Agent Danvers, run a full check up on Ms. Arias; Winn, search the government's database and try to find any mention of a third pod landing on Earth; Supergirl," J'onn looks at Kara with the understanding of someone who also thought they would never find anyone from their own planet ever again. "You should ask Alura's hologram about a third pod being sent to Earth."

All three of them nod at their boss, and Alex gently places a hand on Sam's back to guide her toward the medical bay.

"Will this take long, Alex? I need to be at L-Corp no later than eight…if I'm going to be late I need to call Jess to let her know she'll need to rearrange my meetings." Sam says a little harshly, once she's sitting on the exam table and she sighs, rubbing her temples. "I'm sorry, this is just… This is too much. All I want is to be normal… I just want to be a good mother to my daughter."

Alex understands what's like to have her entire life turned upside down by an unforeseen change, but in her case it was someone new being introduced to her life, not finding out she's from another planet. Sighing, Alex gently grabs hold of Sam's shoulders and waits until she looks up at her, only then Alex says, "Whatever is happening to you, we will figure it out. Together. If it turns out this is just an anomaly or some sort of weird alien infection, we'll treat you and you'll go back to being a kickass CFO and an awesome mom. But if you are Kryptonian, well…" Alex smiles, "let's just say I pity whoever chooses to mess with Ruby."

Sam can't help herself; the idea of being a 'super-mom' brings some comfort to her heart, and she laughs in relief. Placing one hand on top of Alex's, Sam says, "Thank you, Alex. Really, thank you so much for doing all of this for me."

"Don't mention it." Alex shakes her head, although there's a smile tugging at her lips. "Alright," she says, letting go of Sam so she can grab a syringe. "First, let's see if I can draw some blood for analysis."

As Sam watches Alex preparing her arm to draw the blood, she says, "If? I've had blood work done before. Countless times in fact, especially when I was pregnant." But the smile disappears from Sam's face when she sees the needle bending as Alex tries to puncture her skin.

Looking up at Sam, Alex gives her a small smile. "I already expected this, okay? After all, a bullet didn't hurt you, so there's no reason a needle would."

"I-I thought it was triggered by adrenaline or something…" Sam mutters, eyes still locked on her arm.

"It might have been the case at first… but once whatever triggered this transformation started, I think it's been gradually making you stronger." Alex says softly, not wanting to cause Sam to panic. "Lay down for me, please." Once she complies, Alex gets the scan she usually uses on Kara, and starts a reading of Sam. "Do you know anything about your birth-parents?"

Sam shakes her head. "My adoptive mother never told me anything about them."

"Has she ever told you any detail of how she learned about you?" Alex asks, keeping an eye on the scanner's monitor.

Sam shakes her head, "No… But I think it's time I paid her a visit."

Alex nods, and trying to act nonchalantly she asks without looking up from the monitor, "Would you like me to go along? You know…having a federal agent there might help her tell the truth…"

Sam laughs in disbelief; she can't wrap her head around the fact that this has become her life, but still, Alex's offer is very sweet. "Thank you, but I think I can handle Patricia on my own."

"Okay." Alex smiles at Sam, and puts away the scanner. "All done, we should have the results soon. In the meantime, go back to work, go back to being a mom, alright? We've got your back."

Sam gets up from the bed and gives Alex a hug. "Thank you, Alex."

"It's no problem, Sam. Come on, I'll walk you out."

After Sam's gone, Alex gets back to the main operations room where J'onn and Kara are gathered around Winn's computer.

"So, Alex, what have you found out?" J'onn asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's definitely Kryptonian, but I haven't told her yet, I wanted to give her one last day to feel…normal." She says, glancing at her sister. "What did Alura say?"

Kara shakes her head, "There are no records of a third pod being sent to Earth. And I repeated the words Sam heard in her dream, and my mother says there's nothing in her archives that would explain it."

"Nothing on the government database either?" Alex asks.

"Nada." Winn says. "If she really came to Earth in a pod, whoever found her did like the Kents, and hid her pod."

"She's going to pay her adoptive mother a visit soon." Alex informs them.

"That's good." J'onn nods. "You should go with her." And before Alex can get another word in, J'onn adds, "That's an order, Agent Danvers."

"Yes, sir." Alex sighs, and starts walking away from them.

"Alex, hold up." Kara calls after her sister, and when she catches up, she places a hand on Alex's back, making her wince in pain. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing, Kara. Don't worry about it." Alex tries to get Kara to let it go, but it's too late, Kara's already using her x-ray vision to check her back.

“Alex!" Kara gasps. "What happened!?!?"

"You said you'd never use your powers on me." Alex counter argues, but she knows she's only buying time, because Kara is too protective to let this slide.

"And I never do unless you're hurt or in danger, and you're hurt, Alex! Who did this to you??"

Alex pulls Kara away from the other agents, and says, "Fine. It was Sam, okay?"

"What?!?! Alex--"

But before Kara can continue, Alex interrupts her, "She was asleep, Kara. She was having a nightmare, she was scared and in pain, I tried to wake her up, and she threw me across the room."

"She's dangerous, Alex! We need to keep her here." Kara argues, terrified of what a newly-discovered Kryptonian can do with powers she does not comprehend.

"And what, Kara? Make her lose her job? Send Ruby to live with a grandmother she's never even seen?" Alex asks exasperatedly. "What if whatever is happening with her worsens because of those decisions? The woman in her dream said, 'soon you'll reign'. Reign, Kara. We need to be smart and very careful with how we deal with all of this, because if Sam becomes what the woman said in her dream, we will have a very dangerous situation in our hands."

"That's what I'm saying! We can't let her walk free!" Kara's voice is rising as she gets increasingly frustrated at her sister.

"What if the only thing keeping her from turning into this reign thing is her humanity, Kara?? Do you remember what happened to you when you were infected by the red kryptonite??? What if she becomes like that when we cut her links to her friends and family? We can't have an enraged Kryptonian playing monarch in National City."

The words hurt Kara; part of her believes that's what Alex thinks she can become, and it scares Kara, because on some level she's afraid of it too. Crossing her arms, and averting her eyes from Alex, Kara says, "Okay… But one wrong move, one violent act from her, and I'll bring her in, Alex."

Alex nods. "If that does happen, I'll help you bring her in, but until then, continue treating Sam nicely. Be her friend, Kara Danvers, not the city's hero, okay?"

Kara nods, and then something crosses her mind. "Oh Rao… What's gonna happen to Lena if Sam turns bad??"

"Kara…" Alex sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can't tell Lena…"

"I know, I know." Kara groans. "But I--"

"No. No buts. She can't know. We don't know what might send Sam down the wrong path." Alex says firmly, looking into her sister's eye to make sure Kara knows she's not messing around.

"Okay, okay…" Kara relents, but part of her doesn't agree with Alex; between Sam and Lena, Lena comes first, and she needs to protect her. "I'll… I'll let it go for now…"

"Good, thank you." Alex sighs in relief.

"I have to get back to CatCo." Kara says, starting to walk away from her sister. "I'll talk to you later." With a resolute look on her face, Kara flies out of the DEO determined to talk to Lena about Sam.

#samantha arias #alex danvers #ruby arias #sam arias #supergirl #supergirl fanfic #sex reign #wpcts

57 notes · View notes

cyclone-rachel · 5 years

Note

Brainy making Clark a cape with a hoodie attached, and Clark calling it a capoodie. Brainy thinks it's adorable how happy he is.

“Clark?”

“Yeah?”

Brainy smiled upat him, touching his cape as he did so.

“You know thatyour costume is perfect and special to me, and I would never consider replacingany part of it, right?”

“I’d consider that.But, knowing you, you probably have some way of improving it, don’t you?”

Brainy’s guiltyface betrayed his true feelings.

“…Yes.” He answered.“Specifically, I wanted to improve your cape- and I may even have a prototypeof another design ready for you to try on, if you want to.”

Clark smiled. Heliked wearing his own cape, he really did. After all, it had been his babyblanket. And whenever he wore it, donning his family’s coat of arms as well… hefelt closer to his home.

Closer to Krypton.Like, for a time, it wasn’t as abstract of a concept as it usually was.

It felt good.

But he also wasn’tabout to pass up an opportunity to see one of Brainy’s designs.

“For you? Ofcourse.” Clark said, following him to his lab.

“Oh. Oh, wow.”Clark said, turning around, looking over his shoulder at the new cape he waswearing, studying how it flowed and moved with him. “This feels nice.”

“Thank you.”Brainy answered, though he didn’t lift his eyes above Clark’s waist. “You cantry on the hood component. I have noticed it is quite fashionable, forsuperheroes in your era and mine.”

Don’t remind me, Clark almost said. But he pulled it overhis head anyway, adjusting it so Brainy could still see all of his face.

“You know…” Clarkstarted, laughing. “You know what you could call this?”

“What?”

“It’s a cape, anda hoodie, combined.” He said. “So… it’s a capoodie!”

Clark laughed tohimself, repeating the word, and his laugh was so infectious that Brainy felthimself joining in.

“That is good.” Heanswered. “I will consider it.”

“Nice.” Clarksaid.

So are you, he thought. Even though you might not think so.

#papa don't look #rachel answers questions #minifics #peskyshortcake #legion of superheroes #losh #losh au #fanfics #brainysupes

7 notes · View notes

headquartersforlievmuses · 6 years

Text

► Richard Grayson

Dick Grayson is a vigilante in the Batman Family and the original hero known as Robin. Eventually he outgrew this position and was inspired by Superman to become Nightwing, while Jason Todd and Tim Drake succeeded him as Robin. Following the disappearance of Bruce Wayne, he succeeded his mentor to become Batman with Damian Wayne as his Robin during Battle for the Cowl. Bruce's return allowed them to both wear the mantle as part of Batman Incorporated, although Grayson has since then returned to his Nightwing costume in Traps and Trapezes.

Dick Grayson was a twelve-year-old circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called The Flying Graysons of The Haley Circus. Dick joined the act at a very young age, having been trained in acrobatics from birth. While on tour in Gotham City, he overheard "Boss" Tony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime-lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid extortion money. The owner refused, and that night Dick watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending his parents hurtling to their deaths, all while many of Gotham's elite watched on. Young Dick felt responsible, because he didn't warn his parents in time.

Shortly after the tragedy, Dick was placed in an uncaring juvenile services system, on the grounds that social services were full. He got beaten up by a number of the inmates, and he was later sent to a Catholic orphanage. Bruce Wayne rescued Dick by adopting him as his ward, because the boy did not want to replace his deceased father with the billionaire. Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Dick sneaked out of Wayne Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble into Batman, who was also investigating the murder. When Dick returned to the circus, he was confronted by Zucco's business associate, Eddie Skeevers who nearly killed Grayson, but Dick was saved thanks to Batman's intervention. After waking up in the Batcave, he is shocked to learn that Bruce is really the Batman. They succeed in revealing Zucco's complicity, but he supposedly dies of a heart attack before his arrest. Seeing a reflection of himself in Dick; that he could temper compassion with a thirst for justice, Batman made the young orphan the offer of a lifetime; the chance to become his crime-fighting partner. Dick chose the name Robin, and his training began. Dick's first mission alongside the Dark Knight involved battling The Hangman in Gotham's sewers, and then Two-Face and the rest of Batman's Rogues Gallery at the Batcave.

Dick enjoyed his first year as Robin, regarding the job as an adventure until a confrontation with Two-Face served as a rude awakening for the young hero. Two-Face had captured the new District Attorney and Batman, and had each suspended from a hangman's noose in a 'double gallows death-trap'. Robin, in trying to save the D.A., used a batarang to cut the rope of the noose. It worked, but Robin didn't account for Dent's obsession with the number two -- it was a two-fold trap, and the floor gave way, dropping the D.A. into the water, where the man drowned. Robin was unable to prevent his death, and received a beating at the hands of Two-Face. A beating witnessed by Batman, still tied up on the platform trying to free himself. Eventually, Batman was able to free himself and apprehend Two-Face. This event, however, scarred the young crime-fighter, and haunts him even today. Rather than see Dick be further endangered, Batman "fires" his partner, sidelining the Boy Wonder for a time.

The formation of the Teen Titans mainly happened due to the sidekick's mentors making them feel lesser of themselves, which they quickly knew wasn't right about them. Dick, along with Wally West (Kid Flash), and Garth (Aqualad) teamed-up; later on, Donna Troy (Wonder Girl) joined the team along with Roy Harper (Speedy).

Together, they cured the heroes from their mind control; later, their mentors (Batman, Flash, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman) supported the idea of the teens becoming a heroic group, the Teen Titans! Dick became the leader of this team.

Dick continued his adventures with Batman, but Robin started to take on solo missions as well, and found himself to be a capable crime-fighter in his own right. Shortly afterward, the mysterious Raven summoned Dick Grayson, and several other young heroes, to form a new group of Titans. Robin again resumed leadership, and moved out of the shadow of the Batman. Dick rediscovered his self-worth among the Teen Titans and he also found love in Starfire, a beautiful alien who joined the team shortly afterwards. Dick handed over leadership of the Titans to Wonder Girl.

At the age of 19 and after six years of being Robin, Dick was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this prompted Batman to end his sidekick career for good. As a result, Dick moved out of Wayne Manor and attended college at Hudson University, but dropped after the first semester. Meanwhile, Dick continued working with the Teen Titans, but his identity as Robin was no longer fit for him and he soon adopted a new identity.

Uncertain what to do, he turned to someone he knew would understand: Superman. Very briefly, Dick had considered giving up the whole crime fighting gig, but he couldn't imagine his life any other way; but if he couldn't be Robin, who would he be? Superman had the answer. Long ago on Krypton, a man was cast out by his family - just as Dick had been. He dreamed of a world ruled by justice, and set out to protect the helpless of Krypton. His true identity was never revealed. He was known only as Nightwing.

When all his teammates were captured by Deathstroke the Terminator, and delivered to the HIVE, Dick assumed a new identity of Nightwing and helped to free them, with the help of new ally (and future Titan), Jericho.

Nightwing had finally moved out of the shadow of the Bat, and would lead the Titans through some hard times. Dick endured brainwashing at the hands of Brother Blood, his relationship with Starfire would suffer due to her marriage of state, he would be deeply affected by the fact that Batman trained a new Robin (Jason Todd) only for him to be seemingly killed at the hands of the Joker.

Bruce and Dick remained at odds with each other, never fully sorting out their strained relationship. After leaving the New Titans, Dick was searched out by Tim Drake, a long-time fan of the Dynamic Duo, who wanted Dick to return as Robin. Dick refused, but he noticed Batman's need for a partner. Although Nightwing assisted Batman in capturing Two-Face, they both required assistance from Tim Drake, who adopted the Robin identity in order to help them. After weeks of persuading and proving his potential, Dick then returned to the Batman to plead Tim's case, with help from Alfred. Due to their arguments and the realization that the Batman needs a Robin, Tim Drake became the third Boy Wonder.

But his relationship with Starfire became strained, and problems in Gotham demanded Dick's attention. Impulsively, Dick proposed marriage to Starfire. The two almost wed, but the ceremony was interrupted by Raven, now reborn as an evil avatar of her father, Trigon. Her brutal attack on Starfire triggered changes in Dick and Kory's relationship. Starfire was implanted with a demon "seed" which causes her to leave Earth and go on a spiritual journey. The two grew apart, and Starfire eventually returned to her home planet of Tamaran.

Eventually, Nightwing learned that Bruce was taken down by Bane and that he had chosen a total unknown called Jean-Paul Valley in his place as Batman. While Nightwing didn't agree with the decision, he trusted Bruce's judgement.

Unfortunately, months later, that judgement call proved to be wrong and a recovered Bruce Wayne summoned Nightwing to Gotham City, to help him take down Jean-Paul, who had gone rogue while wearing the mantle of the bat. While Bruce trained to regain his lost skills, Nightwing and Robin teamed-up to find Jean-Paul. The two of them went to the Batcave and placed surveillance equipment to monitor all of Jean-Paul's activities. After this, they were shocked to see Jean-Paul acting as a madman, talking to himself alone in the cave. They decided to tell Bruce about Jean-Paul, but when they found Bruce, they witnessed how he apparently killed one of his opponents as part of Shiva's training. However, they soon learned that it was all a ruse to deceive Shiva and Nightwing joined Robin to prepare the Batcave for Bruce's final comeback.

Still recovering from his broken back, Bruce asked Dick to substitute for him as Batman for a time; Dick accepted. During this time, Dick was able to confront Two-Face and lay some demons to rest. He also established a wonderful partnership with Tim. Bruce eventually returned to Gotham to reclaim his role as Batman. For the first time in a long time, Bruce and Dick began to heal their strained relationship. Bruce's respect for Dick was at last obvious.

Nightwing travels to London to convince Alfred to come back to working for them, and they foil a military coup together. Shortly afterward, Dick decides to retire from crimefighting since his brief stint as Batman made him realize he does not want to be Bruce. He gives his costume to Bruce and tells him to get rid of it. His attitude changes when he learns that Prince Balsik of Kravia might have been responsible for the murder of his parents. Harold Allnut makes Dick a new improved Nightwing suit. In Kravia he helps overthrow the trannical Balsik and also learns that his parents witnessed an assassination shortly before their deaths. Balsik sends the assassin Goode Ole Bernie to kill Dick, but Dick beats him. Ultimately Dick learns that Balsik was not responsible for the death of his parents, but the experience makes him remember how important being a hero is to him. He reconciles with Bruce, saying Bruce and Alfred are the best family he could have hoped for, and returns to his role as Nightwing permanently.

Investigating a crime in nearby Blüdhaven, Nightwing saw that the city was just as bad, if not worse, than Gotham. With no one to protect Blüdhaven, and a need to forge his own path as a hero, Nightwing decided to relocate there.

This was the beginning of a long, uphill battle for Dick Grayson. He fought many victorious battles in Blüdhaven as its protector, and certainly made it a safer place, but he never won the war. The city, and his losses, took their toll on Nightwing, leading him to eventually adopt a grimmer outlook on being a hero.

The Titans and Young Justice are approached by a corporation named Optitron who want to achieve a massive tax write-off by completely funding them, but Nightwing angrily dismisses the idea as "selling out." They're also attacked by an android named Indigo who hospitalizes a third of both teams, although Cyborg insists that she is not hostile. In the aftermath, Nightwing broods in the hospital over his failures as a leader. The Indigo android continues her rampage and accidentally releases a broken Superman Robot from S.T.A.R. Labs who murders Omen when they try to approach it. Nightwing coordinates the team to fight this robot, but they're badly beaten and Indigo doesn't defeat it until after it's already slain Donna Troy. Following her funeral, Nightwing angrily tells Arsenal that he can't see another friend die and he's disbanding the Titans.

Three months after Graduation Day, Arsenal approaches Nightwing with the idea of rebuilding a team that they're not emotionally attached to. This team of new recruits includes Grace Choi, Indigo, Jade, Metamorpho and Thunder operating out of a bomb shelter under Brooklyn. Their first mission is an invasion of super-intelligent gorillas led by Gorilla Grodd in Manhattan. This is revealed to be a ruse engineered by the Joker to kidnap and torture President Luthor, although they stop him before he can kill the President. In the aftermath, Nightwing explains to Batman that he's tired of being a reactionary hero and wishes to make his team proactive hunters as the new Outsiders.

Deathstroke betrays Nightwing when Blüdhaven is destroyed by the Society. The Society drops the super-villain Chemo on the city, killing 100,000 people. Dick tries to rescue survivors, but is overcome by radiation poisoning, only to be rescued himself by Batman. Nightwing confides that he let Blockbuster die and asks Batman to forgive him. Batman tells him that his forgiveness doesn't matter; Dick has to move beyond Blockbuster's death. Inspired by his mentor, he proposes to Barbara Gordon, who tearfully accepts his proposal with a kiss.

Unable to find Batman, Nightwing returned to the city, where he unleashed his frustration on some street criminals.[61] Upon his return to the Batcave, Nightwing learned of Batgirl's plan to create a new team to replace Batman and he didn't liked the idea at all.

Nightwing returned to New York, where he was contacted by Two-Face, who asked Nightwing to save Carol Bermingham and keep her safe from an unknown threat. Nightwing rescued Carol, but he was badly injured. After recovering, Nightwing took Carol to one of Batman's safehouses and he went to the Batcave seeking Alfred's medical attention. Alfred healed Nightwing from his wounds and after a brief recovery, Nightwing went back to Carol and took her to one of his safe places in New York, but the place was soon attacked by all of Batman's greatest enemies. Nightwing realized that it was all an illusion created by Scarecrow's Fear Toxin as Alfred informed him earlier. Nightwing fought his deepest fears and managed to overcome the illusions, just to find that Two-Face was behind it all. Nightwing failed to save Carol from Two-Face and the villain escaped.[65] After a few days, Nightwing saved New York from Two-Face's ultimate plan to destroy half of the city of Manhattan.

In the wake of Bruce Wayne's disappearance, Gotham was thrown into chaos by a new Black Mask who destroyed Arkham and took control of its inmates using microchips. Nightwing rallied Batman's Network to stop the gang violence, but in the midst of the increasing violence, a new Azrael appeared and Nightwing became aware of his presence. When Azrael broke into the batcave, Nightwing confronted him and they started a sword fight. Nightwing defeated Azrael and returned him to his apartment, where he placed the Suit of Sorrows and the swords attached to a note allowing him to work in Gotham and later he informed this decision to Talia. Refusing to take the mantle of the bat, Nightwing learned of the destruction of Arkham and during his investigation, he saved Damian from a certain death, but in the end they were confronted by Jason Todd, who had started wearing his own crooked version of a batsuit.

At Bruce Wayne's private funeral, Dick announces that they cannot allow Batman to die and his legend must continue. Alfred Pennyworth helps him build a new Bat-Bunker so he can make the identity of Batman his own, and Dick begins his career by taking down Scarecrow.

He makes an immediate impression as a more media-friendly Batman who allows crime scenes to be recorded so his convictions stick. When he goes after the Penguin, Black Mask intervenes by sending Clayface and Lyle Blanco as hitmen. Two-Face breaks into the Batcave using a teleporter and tries to confront Batman as an impostor, but Dick convinces him otherwise. His first mission with Damian Wayne as Robin involves Professor Pyg and the Circus of Strange, who they stop from spreading drug addiction like a virus and turning people into Dollotrons.[83] They continue to struggle with Hush posing as Bruce Wayne, and begin keeping him under constant guard to stop him from damaging the Wayne Foundation. Firefly betrays Black Mask to satisfy his pyromania and Zsasz uses the Broker to construct a gladiatorial abbatoir.

Tim Drake believes that Bruce is still alive, and leaves Gotham as Red Robin to look for clues in Europe when Dick won't support him. They test the mettle of Stephanie Brown as the new Batgirl when they're attacked by Roulette. He also observes Batwoman taking down the Religion of Crime, although he allows her to operate independently. The Riddler gains his respect when they work together on a case involving Conundrum.[88] In an encounter with Booster Gold, he's briefly erased from history by the Black Beetle and then restored.[89] Aqualad visits him for advice on how to handle Atlantis after losing his mentor Aquaman. His new identity is also shown to affect Starfire, who still has romantic feelings for him. When Vigilante arrives in Gotham, they fight and then arrive at a mutual understanding. In his first team-up with Azrael and the Question, Robin is kidnapped and they go after a religious cult named La Saligia.

Black Mask remains cornered by the National Guard in Devil's Square with his mind-controlled False Faces, but he plans to threaten the city with experimental toxins using his Ministry of Science including Doctor Death, Fright, Hugo Strange and the Reaper. Mario Falcone returns to Gotham after many years and tries to take organized crime back for the Roman Empire, although Batman eventually burns his estate down. The Penguin hires a young thief named Kittihawk who plagues Batman, although she eventually becomes Catwoman's sidekick and takes the name Catgirl. Eventually Batman is forced to lead a frontal assault on Devil's Square using the Network, and he exposes Black Mask as the newly insane Jeremiah Arkham.

In the aftermath of Blackest Night, Donna Troy and Hal Jordan rebuild the Justice League inviting Batman into their membership including The Atom, Congorilla, Cyborg, Doctor Light, Green Arrow, Guardian, Mon-El and Starfire.

Grayson and Damian made an excellent job as Batman and Robin and as such, they attracted the unwanted attention of Vicki Vale, and Dick was forced to turn her attention away. However, this only caused her to focus her attention even more, which was bad for Batman and Robin as a new vigilante appeared in Gotham; a man only known as the Insider. Upon his return to the present, Bruce Wayne has turned the concept of "Batman" into a global operation known as "Batman Incorporated", after revealing to the press he has been "funding" Batman all these years. Dick has retained the the Batman identity despite Bruce's return to the mantle. He continues to operate as Gotham City's primary defender with Damian Wayne continuing as his Robin. He has also joined the current incarnation of the JLA.

Powers

Acrobatics: Grayson is a prodigious natural athlete and master acrobat, possessing a peak human level of agility/acrobatic skills. He is regarded as the greatest human acrobat in the DC universe . He is one of three people in the world who can pull off a quadruple flip

Computer Hacking: He is skilled enough to hack into the JLA emergency override codes and hacked an alien Terminal with the use of the Tameranean Language he learn from Starfire.

Disguise

Driving

Escapology: Due to his training with Batman, he possess extreme skill in escapology. He was able to escape a maze before the Flash could [119], release himself from police handcuffs in an instant before the cop could even notice, and was able to use a Tibetan Mind Technique to escape virtual reality.

Firearms: Grayson is also skilled with firearms, as he was trained by Batman to do so.

Genius Level Intellect: He has vast knowledge of different fields. He often shows this when in use with his Detective skills. He was intelligent enough to build his own "Nightcar", build and program a Tech Glider, and also mentioned he can fool a polygraph.

Indomitable Will: Like his mentor, Grayson has a very strong will. He is able to resist Scarecrow's potent fear toxins, resist and overcome mind control from Brother Blood and the Groom. He was even a candidate to succeed the Green Lantern, Abin Sur.

Intimidation: He is skilled enough to get Scarecrow, who only fears Batman, to talk and, during his time as Batman, was able to contain a riot in Arkham Asylum.

Investigation: Grayson is a master detective, and has been said to be second to Batman. He was able to solve a riddle by the Riddler before Batman himself even figured it out before becoming Robin and has been shown to solve mysteries and cases in a speed that even impresses his mentor. Barbara even commented that he was able to solve 4 cases in "America's Most Wanted" in a single morning and solved a homicide case that went unsolved for 14 years. He was also able to deduce clues Bruce left in the manor that suggested he was traveling through time.

Leadership: He is also a brilliant and experienced leader with superlative team skills, having served as leader to the Titans, the Outsiders, and even the Justice League. Additionally, Dick's efforts to remain in contact with other heroes makes him a master at rallying, unifying, and inspiring the superhero community, a skill in which he has surpassed his mentor.

Martial Arts: Grayson is a master martial artist, having studied under Batman and Richard Dragon.. His fighting style has an emphasis on Aikido and Eskrima. He is considered second only to Batman in fighting skill as he as been able to take down Arsenal, Ra's al Ghul, Red Hood, Shrike, and has stalemated the likes of Cassandra Cain, Cheshire, and Deathstroke. He is proficient in various martial arts such as:

Aikido

Boxing

Capoeira

Eskrima

Hapkido

Judo

Ninjitsu

Savate

Stick Fighting

Kung Fu

Multilingualism: Having had the finest education as Bruce Wayne's ward, Grayson speaks fluent English, Spanish, Japanese, German, Russian, French, Swahili, Mandarin, Cantonese, and is possibly fluent in other languages. He has some knowledge of the alien language of Tamaran.

Peak Human Condition: Due to his training with Batman, Dick Grayson is at the peak of human perfection (almost on Batman's level). He has displayed peak human strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and endurance because of his training at a young age.

Peak Human Strength: Nightwing possesses enough strength to break a holographic construct Bane's back, throw KGBeast through a concrete wall, throw a refrigerator and use a bed as a weapon. He had even been able to damage Blockbuster. Dick can easily lift a man with one hand. His greatest feats of strength were breaking through titanium legs, snap a Superhuman Talon's knee tendons with a single kick, and supporting over 1000 lbs of rubble over his head to save people from a burning building.

Peak Human Agility: Dick Grayson possesses perfect equilibrium, balance, flexibility, dexterity, and bodily coordination far above than the Olympic-level athlete and one of the world's greatest acrobat. He is one of the 3 people able to do a quadruple backflip. His agility also enables him to possess extremely high gymnastic and acrobatic prowess, Dick also can survive at heights that would even concern the likes of Superman and Starfire.

Peak Human Speed: Dick Grayson possesses peak human speed, able to keep up with and even surpass his mentor in speed. He has been said to be faster than Batman. He is capable of sprinting speeds of approximately 30 mph. Nightwing himself has said that he's fast enough outrun a moving vehicle. He is also able to match Metahuman's in combat speed (with the exception of speedsters)

Peak Human Reflexes: He possesses enough skill to detect a Sniper and dodge several rapid gunfire bullets[166] at point blank range.

Peak Human Stamina: At peak capacity, Dick Grayson is highly resistant to toxins, and can exert himself for approximately an hour before beginning to slow down or tiring. He is capable of holding his breath for 7 minutes from training with Batman. Ever since his teenage years, he has been shown to intensely train for exceptionally lung capacity. His most prominent feat of stamina is outpacing Midnighter, who has Superhuman Stamina.

Peak Human Endurance: Dick's muscles and bones are much more tolerable to damage than other humans, he possessed endurance similar to his mentor and is able to survive attacks from Blockbuster, who possesses Superhuman Strength, and Osiris. He continued to function despite a direct gunshot from a .32 pistol grazed to the back of his head. He also functions for up to 4 days straight without any sleep. While not enhanced level, he endure the highly temperatures from the flames.

Stealth: He is capable of breaching very high security facilities without being detected. He can even sneak up on Batman himself on occasion. Grayson is also skilled enough to even sneak away and keep hidden from Speedsters like Jesse Quick.

Swordsmanship: Grayson has bested the master swordsman, Ra's al Ghul, in a sword dual.

Throwing: Grayson is skilled in throwing modified Shuriken (Wing-Dings) to hit thugs at a great distance with his eyes closed, despite occasionally giving them head-starts and even disarm others with his wingdings..

Tracking

Weaponry: He has displayed high expertise with various weapons including Shuriken (Wing-Dings and Batarangs), throwing knives, paired staves, and swords.

Dick actually met his Robin successor Tim Drake at a very young age during the Year Three storyline. Tim greatly admired the Flying Graysons as a child and idolized Dick, even posing together in a picture with him at one point. Drake would later use his knowledge of Grayson's acrobatic style to independently deduce Batman's secret identity during A Lonely Place of Dying.

Dick's parents left him a trust fund that Bruce Wayne's business partner Lucius Fox later turned into a small fortune. Although it is not comparable with Bruce Wayne's wealth, it has been enough for maintaining his Nightwing equipment; for purchasing the rights to Haly's Circus, saving Dick's former home from financial troubles; and for secretly buying the apartment building at 1013 Parkthorne Avenue in Blüdhaven. This address was also the home of the retired hero Tarantula (Jonathan Law).

Dick has an admitted weakness for redheads Both his big loves, Barbara Gordon, and Starfire, are redheads.

Dick has called Alfred Pennyworth his "best friend" on multiple occasions.

Dick's parents were killed on June 27th.

Verses

Dick Grayson v. Flying Grayson

tba

Dick Grayson v. Tragedy Strikes

tba

Dick Grayson v. A new Family is created

tba

Dick Grayson v. Grayson Legacy

tba

Dick Grayson v. We are a Team. We are the Titans

tba

Dick Grayson v. Blüdhaven belongs to Nightwing

tba

Dick Grayson v. Forever in a Kiss

tba

Dick Grayson v. Positive Blue Stick

tba

#Batman #Batman [Richard Grayson]#Male Character #non mutuals #face claim: Milo Ventimiglia

4 notes · View notes

renaroo · 7 years

Text

Chip Off the Old Block

Disclaimer: Batman, Superman and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics. Warnings: Canon-typical violence & language Rating: T Prompt: ( @amariemelody ) YAY! Then, when you have time? Can you do Clark staying home with and caring for Jon b/c Jon caught the Kryptonian-version of a cold and so he has to stay home from school? OMFG, it'd be so cute!!!

A/N: This was fun to write so thank you so much for the prompt

Standing nervously in the doorway, Clark did his best to stay out of Jon’s peripheral vision. A task made only more difficult by the fact that the entire time Lois was sitting on the boy’s bed and trying to keep his attention, Jon was staring directly in Clark’s direction.

Jon did that a lot. Looking to Clark for an emotional baseline, as if he knew that Clark was the weaker link between the two of them. Lois could remain guarded and tough no matter what.

Clark was wringing his hands.

“Well, you’re not going to school today,” Lois decided at last, sighing and taking a thermometer from their son’s mouth. “You are definitely running a fever and your coughs and sneezes almost blow a hole through the ceiling.”

“Aw, Mom, you were never going to let me go to school,” Jon whined with a crackling, hoarse voice. “You said from the start. Why’d you even take my temperature?”

“Because empirical evidence is always good to have in your arsenal,” Lois replied before leaning forward and putting a firm kiss on Jon’s forehead. “Finish your orange juice and get some sleep. When you feel better you can go watch some tv, but I don’t want you pushing yourself.”

“I’m Superboy,” he whined even as he settled into his cocoon of blankets and duvets.

“No, you’re Sickboy and you’re staying home today,” Lois replied, walking out of their son’s room and looking toward Clark with a raised eyebrow. “You doubted my mother’s intuition.”

“No. Maybe,” Clark said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just.. I never caught the flu or got sick when I was growing up, Lois. And Jon’s…”

“Only half Kryptonian and has only had his powers developing recently,” Lois reminded him. “He’s a kid. They get sick sometimes. Germs and whatnot. Not to mention we let him fly to Gotham… who knows what’s in the smog over that city…”

“Lois,” Clark admonished.

“Oh, I’m kidding, Smallville,” she assured him, leaning against the hall wall and crossing her arms.

“I know you are,” Clark replied, exasperated. “I just don’t know how you can! I mean… Jon’s sick and… And that’s…”

“Scary,” Lois replied.

“I’m terrified,” Clark replied with a forced smile.

“That’s being a parent,” Lois assured him. “I’d be more worried if you weren’t being your over protective, worrywart self, Clark.”

He smiled fondly at Lois, still so taken aback by how strong and inspiring his wife could still be after all the years they had been together.

“Which is also why you’re the one staying home today,” Lois said, pushing off the wall and heading toward the bathroom.

“What?” Clark asked critically.

“I’m going to work, you need to stay and take care of Jon because one, Perry’s going to notice me taking off more than you taking off, two, I am not staying at home so that you can text me for updates every twenty seconds, and three, my son’s sneezes can knock me over but you’re more wind resistant.”

Clark suddenly felt less inspired. “Lois, I told you, I’ve never been sick before. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Chicken noodle soup, cough syrup, hydrate him, and, pretending that you’re doing it behind my back, give him a little bit of ice cream when he’s feeling better,” Lois listed off. “It’s real kitsch — you’ll love it.”

“You’re overestimating my abilities here, honey,” Clark replied.

“Oh, I definitely am,” Lois agreed with a laugh.

“Do you want me to text you with updates?” Clark asked, half joking.

Lois looked up dully from getting her clothes together and she pointed warningly at him. “I want only messages of dramatically better or worryingly worse. Anything in between and I’ll block your number, Clark. I can’t worry about my baby while I’m trying to remember how to spell without my main spellchecker there.”

“Curious only has one ‘r’,” Clark joked.

“I love you,” Lois said, leaning up and kissing him. “Don’t let our son’s temperature lead to some sort of nuclear meltdown of our new apartment.”

“Can that happen?” Clark asked seriously.

“Guess we’ll find out!” Lois joked in return.

Clark actually took quite a bit of pride in the fact that he didn’t give into temptation and call Lois until nearly noon. To which he was told yes it was normal that a sickly Jon was still sleeping.

“It just seems like it’s a lot of sleeping,” Clark attempted to explain.

“And that would be considered a good thing by most people’s standards, Smallville,” Lois joked over the phone. “Nothing takes care of a cold quite like sleeping it off.” She sounded distracted and distant. Clark wondered how she knew so much without even being in the apartment. He really had married a true Super Woman. “Have you made chicken noodle soup yet?”

“No,” Clark answered, looking in on Jon one more time.

“Then you should get started on that instead of calling me,” Lois informed him. “Jon’ll need to eat something shen he wakes up, and you obviously need something to distract you that isn’t some kind of world-threatening calamity.”

“I can handle world-threatening calamities,” Clark grumbled, mostly to himself.

“I’m in a writing groove, hon, just relax. You’re my Superman after all, I think you can handle a common cold. Just make sure Jon doesn’t break anything with his sneezes,” Lois warned. “I won’t blame him but I’ll definitely blame you in every argument for the rest of our marriage.”

“Got it,” Clark sighed as Lois hung up.

After getting one last look at his sleeping son, Clark headed to the kitchen and had a good look around. “Alright then,” he said, hands on his hips. “Let’s make chicken noodle soup.”

Perhaps it was a function of Clark having never been all that sick when he was growing up, but the association between soup and sickness always seemed strange to him. Ma never spared an opportunity to make a good soup for them back in Smallville, and like everything else she made it was perfection regardless of the time of year.

Still, he had seen enough Campbell’s commercials to at least know it was a concept that existed.

So he got the pot out, some chicken broth, salt and pepper, debated on noodles for almost five minutes before settling on angel hair, cracked an egg in, diced canned chicken and prayed that neither Pa nor Ma were looking down on him for using canned chicken of all things, and he began making the soup.

Of course, all of that was easier done than said when one had super speed and heat vision moderated to the perfect temperature for the pot.

Standing by the stove with a finished pot of soup, Clark rubbed his chin and wondered what would be best to do with the soup — put it in the oven? Put it on simmer? What would Ma do?

“Is that soup?” a scratchy voice asked from behind Clark.

“Jon, you’re out of bed,” Clark pointed out, turning to look at his scraggly headed, hunched over son. It just about broke his heart, even if it was a ‘mere’ cold. “Yes! I have some soup for you, if you’re feeling up to it.”

Using his full sleeve, Jon lazily wiped at his nose and mouth, making his already red cheeks and nose redder before he sniffed heavily again. “Mmkay,” he responded before sluggishly dragging himself up to the kitchen table and plopping down.

As soon as he was sitting, Jon laid his cheek on the table, facing Clark. He watched as Clark got a bowl from the cabinets and began to pour for him. “Do cities have more germs?”

Clark hesitated before pouring the rest of the chicken noodle soup in the bowl. “More germs than…?”

“Than Hamilton?” Jon asked, lifting his head up lazily when Clark approached with the bowl. “I need a spoon.”

“Right,” Clark replied, putting down the bowl and heading to the utensil drawer. “I believe germs are everywhere you go, Jon. But cities do have more people, which sometimes means they can pass more germs to one another quicker.”

“I knew it,” Jon groaned, laying his head down beside the bowl even when Clark came back with the spoon. “Metropolis is trying to kill me.”

Cracking a smile, Clark forced the spoon into his son’s hand and then took his seat across the table. “Metropolis isn’t trying to kill you. And there probably aren’t more germs per person here either. The problem is… human immune systems need to… adapt. There might not be more germs, but you’re probably exposed to new germs. Which means your immune system was caught off guard and just needs some time to deal with it.”

“Because Metropolis isn’t Hamilton,” Jon concluded, pulling his head off the table and letting it roll back loosely as he looked down at the soup.

“Sounds to me like you and Metropolis need to spend some more quality time with each other,” Clark joked. “Pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate all this ire directed her way.” He then looked down to the soup and back up to Jon. “If you’re not really feeling hungry, you don’t have to eat right now, Jon. I can just get you some water or orange juice or maybe sprite if your stomach’s upset?”

“No,” he said as he grabbed his spoon and began to stir his soup. He lapsed into silence for a moment before looking to Clark almost mournfully. “Hey, Dad?”

“Yes, Jon?” Clark replied, tilting his head just slightly.

“Will I get used to Metropolis?” Jon asked. “I mean… to its… germs?”

Clark hummed to himself slightly, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. “Well, I never got sick when I moved to the city for the first time, mind you, but I also moved from a small town where I felt like I knew everyone and every thing there was to know around me. And I came here the first time and… well it was like living in an entirely different world. It was as alien to me as the holograms and recordings the Sunstones showed me of Krypton. And for the first few weeks, well, I didn’t even know where to put my foot down to find a footing,” he admitted. “I wasn’t sick, but I was definitely not used to the needs and calls of a city.”

“How did you get used to it?” Jon asked, voice sounding a little stronger as he took his first spoonful of soup into his mouth.

“Well, the lucky thing about us, son, is that when I didn’t find my footing… I remembered I could fly,” he said, thinking back on the early years with a fondness he hadn’t realized he still held for the City of Tomorrow.

“Mom used to move around all the time ‘cuz of Grandpa Sam, right?” Jon asked, continuing to eat. “How’d she get used to Metropolis?”

“I don’t know, she was here winning Pulitzers before I ever came onto the scene,” Clark laughed. “But I know one thing about your mother, when she sees something she wants, when she settles on something she wants to achieve, neither hell nor high-water can keep her from it.” He paused. “Including wanting to get Superman for an exclusive.”

“How’d she do that?” Jon asked.

“She jumped off a roof so I’d catch her,” Clark replied before realizing he was perhaps being a little too honest with their son. He glanced over to Jon’s shocked face. “Um. You should do as your mother says and not as your mother does.”

“At least I can fly,” Jon said, amazed. “Mom can’t but she did it anyway—“

“I didn’t say she was good at risk assessment, Jon, I’m glad you inherited some of my reservations,” Clark laughed, trying to switch subjects as he heard a familiar rhythm from the hallway. “How’s your soup?”

“Okay,” Jon replied.

“Only okay?” Clark asked, trying not to show his surprise.

“Mom’s is better,” Jon informed him.

“Your mother warms up a can of soup. This is homemade,” Clark tried to defend.

“No wonder my ears were burning at the office,” Lois’ voice called from the door as it opened. “Sorry to just drop in. I kept writing the same sentence five times and realized that I couldn’t get any work done knowing my little man of the house was in bed sick.”

“Hi, Mom,” Jon greeted her, melting into her side as she pulled him into a hug against her waist.

Lois then looked perturbed toward Clark. “How else do you make soup if it’s not from a can?” she asked. “Never mind, don’t tell me. It’s in the can because someone else has already perfected it.”

Clark sighed and got up, pulling both of his family into an embrace. “Jon, you might miss Hamilton, but let me assure you, you are every bit the tasteless city slicker that your mother is.”

“Hey!” both Lois and Jon yelled back, half in jest.

#writing #Super fic #Clark Kent #Jon Kent #Lois Lane

16 notes · View notes

lynnearlington · 7 years

Note

hello lynne!!!!!! SUPERCORP! 4 / 7 / 9 / 12 / 14

So I did almost all of them, but the post got too long for tumblr so...not all of them. (this prompt list was probably a bad idea because so many of them could turn into long fics)

Prompt List Here | Fic Tag Here

4: “Come here. Let me fix it.”

Lena sees the intention in Kara’s motion almost immediately and let’s out a warning, “Kara!”

It stops Kara’s movement before it can harm her poor helpless laptop and Lena laughs at the look of pure frustration on her girlfriend’s face. “Don’t take it out on the electronics,” Lena teases, setting her magazine down on the coffee table as she watches Kara, sat at her kitchen counter.

“The stupid thing keeps freezing on me or randomly deleting stuff and I wanted to post this article before we go out of town.”

“I don’t think punching it into space is going to help you, darling,” Lena comments on a laugh.

Kara mock glares at her, but her lips form an almost-pout that Lena finds endearing. “Sure, but it’d make me feel better,” Kara argues, still eying her computer like throwing it out the window is a possibility.

“Bring it here,” Lena tells her, waving her over to the couch.

“What for?”

“Just come here,” Lena says with a slight roll of her eyes. “Let me fix it.”

Kara does as she’s told, plopping grumpily on Lena’s couch and shoving the computer into Lena’s hands.

It takes a bit for Lena to locate the source of the problem - software or hardware. She makes a mental note to just build Kara a new laptop later, but focuses for now on pulling up a coding terminal so she can comb through the innards of the machine.

“I was really smart on Krypton,” Kara comments, watching Lena’s hands stroke quickly across the keyboard. “Just so you know.”

“You’re really smart here on Earth, sweetheart,” Lena soothes, watching her commands fill the on-screen terminal.

“Everything is so prehistoric,” Kara complains and Lena laughs, watching Kara’s laptop come back to life, the article she was working on earlier still blinking back at them on the screen.

“There.” Lena hands it back over with just a touch of triumph and a little smirk on her lips. It feels good to fix something tangible, to be able to help her superpowered girlfriend in whatever way she can.

“Thanks,” Kara says, turning back immediately to her work. Lena presses a quick kiss to Kara’s temple and stands.

“Food?”

“Duh,” is all Kara says, typing away furiously.

Sometimes Lena is positive that Kara actually forgets she has superpowers. It’s the only answer for moments like these when they’re running late to dinner and Kara is hopping around the bedroom trying to pull on a heel, her hair still a bit in disarray and the strap of her dress twisted over her shoulder. How Kara is late to anything is beyond Lena - it’s as if Kara forgets she could superspeed her way through the process.

Lena watches her through the mirror as she slides an earring into her ear and tries not to laugh.

“Stupid thing,” Kara grumbles, unsuccessfully trying to reach behind her and untwist a strap - Lena can see from here that the attempt will fail.

“Kara,” Lena calls out, finished with her jewelry.

Kara’s gaze snaps around and she turns to look towards Lena expectantly. “Yeah?”

“Come here,” Lena beckons, waving her over as she leans back against the bathroom sinks. “Let me fix it.”

Kara practically stomps over, but does as Lena says and turns to give Lena access to the stubborn dress strap.

“How did you even manage to twist it this bad?” Lena laughs, seeing that the strap can unhook in the back and doing so, smoothing it out with careful fingers before rehooking it.

“I was in a hurry.”

Amused at the grumpy tone in Kara’s voice, Lena smiles before stepping closer and pressing her lips against the strong muscles of Kara’s back.

“Is it fixed?” Kara all but squeaks out as Lena’s lips trail up her back and shoulder.

“All fixed,” Lena murmurs, smiling at the shade of pink that flushes into the tips of Kara’s ears.

When Kara comes home particularly late one night, Lena is waiting for her on the couch. She had received a text earlier from Alex telling her that Kara would be home later than usual coupled with reassurances that she was physically whole, but perhaps emotionally vulnerable.

The expression on Kara’s face when she walks in the door tells Lena all she needs to know about how true that assessment is.

“Hey,” Lena greets, standing quickly and striding towards her. Kara takes steps backwards in reaction, moving away from Lena’s grasp and Lena’s fingers clench, unsure of what to do.

“Hi,” Kara breathes out, but her eyes can’t quite meet Lena’s. It’s like cornering a wounded animal. Kara backs up, one hand positioned just slightly in front of her as if to ward Lena off.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

There’s clear redness in Kara’s eyes and Lena can feel answering tears well up in her own. Kara just shakes her head, jawline tight. “I just-”

It seems Kara can’t find all the words and Lena understands that on a deep level - the way the swell of emotion can overwhelm you and that feeling that there just aren’t words adequate enough to explain it all.

“Kara,” Lena tries, gentle and soothing. She tries to get Kara to look at her, repeats her name in a soft whisper.

Kara finally does, this lost expression on her face that Lena’s not used to. She’s not sure what’s beaten Kara down so badly or what’s currently torturing her. For a moment she considers texting Alex back, telling her to come over and help because Alex always seems to know the kinds of things Kara needs in these moments. But Lena’s afraid that if she takes her eyes off Kara for a second the other girl will bolt away, fly out the window to battle her demons on her own.

“Kara,” Lena says again, taking a careful step forward and trying not to react to the way Kara flinches like she’s afraid to touch Lena. “Come here,” Lena tells her, curling her fingers in a beckoning gesture.

Kara looks ready to protest, but Lena shakes her head, takes another step closer. “Kara come here,” she says, opening her arms. “Let me fix it.”

“You can’t,” Kara says, voice breaking. The sound of it echoes hollowly in Lena’s chest.

“You don't know that,” Lena replies softly, keeping her expression and her posture open, begging Kara with her eyes to accept the comfort.

Kara’s shoulders start to sag a little, hope spiking in Lena’s heart, and her girlfriend takes a step toward her, fingers tangling suddenly with Lena’s in a touch so gentle that Lena almost doesn’t register it right away.

She manages to get Kara fully into her embrace, hugging her tightly around tense shoulders, Kara’s face tucking against Lena’s shoulder. She presses a warm kiss into Kara’s hair. “Let me fix it,” she murmurs and Kara just nods, puffs out a sigh into the skin of Lena’s neck.

7: “I dreamt about you last night.”

Lena’s already on the balcony outside her office when Supergirl lands there with a soft thud of her boots. It’s night after a long work day and Lena has taken to watching the cars pass by far below L Corp Tower, a glass of red wine swirling idly in her hand. It makes her feel a little smaller to watch the cars and the people and look out across National City’s looming skyline. For a second she can pretend she’s just a forgettable cog in the larger gears of the world and not like she has a target painted on her back, eyes on her every move.

“Supergirl,” she murmurs in greeting, exhaustion keeping her spine bowed where she leans against the railing. She can’t imagine what has National City’s resident superhero visiting her at this time, but whatever it is, Lena’s not sure she has the energy for it. “What can I do for you?”

Supergirl doesn’t say anything, just walks over and leans up against the rail next to Lena, looking out in the same direction. “Long day?”

Lena tries not to react to the question, but it startles her slightly to be having idle chit chat with Supergirl of all people. She takes a sip of her wine and keeps her eyes forward. “Not more so than usual.”

A low hum of agreement is all that meets her and Lena is acutely aware of how close Supergirl has come to stand near her. She turns slightly towards the other girl. “Did you need something?”

If she didn’t know better, she’d think there’s a slight blush to Supergirl’s cheeks and a chagrined expression on her face.

“I had a dream about you last night,” Supergirl says, so soft that Lena almost doesn’t catch it.

“I’m sorry?”

Supergirl’s fingers twist together, almost nervously, and Lena didn’t know that godlike superheroes could look so...fidgety. “I dreamt about you last night,” Supergirl repeats and Lena turns fully now to look at her, standing up from her lean.

She arches an eyebrow, almost suggestively, but bites back on the instinct to flirt with Supergirl. “A good one I’d hope,” she says and if it comes out a little flirty anyway that’s not entirely her fault.

It gets Supergirl to laugh a little and she stands up to face Lena. With a shrug and darting eyes, Supergirl seems to struggle to answer. “Just a dream,” she says and Lena feels completely confused about what’s happening. She sets her wine glass down on the small ledge beside her and crosses her arms.

“Do Kryptonians have some sort of…” she waves a hand around vaguely, “gift of prophecy through dreams or something?”

Supergirl's brows come together, but she chuckles a little. “No,” she answers, shaking her head. “At least I don’t think so.” Supergirl pauses, as if considering the idea. “Gosh, I hope not.”

Lena thins her lips, amused. “Weird dreams you’re afraid of coming true?”

Supergirl puts her hands on her hips, looks a little exasperated and shoots Lena a look. “I just had a...dream about you and I wanted to come check on you. Make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” Lena says, fighting the warm feeling in her chest at the idea that Supergirl just wanted to check up on her. “Nothing to worry about here, Supergirl.”

Lena thinks that’s the end of it, figures Supergirl will jump back into the sky again and even makes a move to go back inside her office, but Supergirl’s voice stops her.

“When I first game to Earth I used to have nightmares,” she says, tone quiet and careful.

It feels intimate in a way that twists Lena’s gut. She stays silent, watches the lights of National City play over Supergirl’s face and notes for the first time how young the superhero looks.

“Mostly about my planet...dying. My parents…” Supergirl looks away, swallowing visibly, posture tense. “I’d wake up and the whole day I’d just feel-”

Lena does know what the feels like, has had enough nightmares featuring the maddened gaze of her older brother or the hardened one of her mother to know how that fear and unease can linger throughout the daylight hours.

Supergirl shrugs, laughs, seemingly at herself and sends Lena a smile. “I can’t check on my parents or on Krypton or…”

“I’m sorry,” Lena offers, unsure where this confession is coming from, unsure of what to do with the information or what it seems to imply. All she knows is that National City’s Sweetheart is on her balcony with worry etched into her expression and Lena seems to be the cause for some reason.

“I had a dream about you,” Supergirl says, firmly, but warm. “And I wanted to check on you. Because you’re my friend. We’re friends.”

The word friend rattles inside Lena’s head, twists around her ribcage and she’s unwittingly brought back to the white couch of her office when she finally started to trust the budding friendship between her and Kara. She feels out of depth, doesn’t know when she suddenly gained not one friend but two and one of them symbolizes everything her family has always hated.

“Thanks,” is all she can manage and she prides herself on keeping her voice even, steady.

Supergirl smiles wide, steps forward and puts a comforting hand on Lena’s bicep, the feeling of it bleeding hotly through the fabric of Lena’s blazer. “Stay safe,” Supergirl murmurs before stepping back and jumping back into the sky, flying away with a whoosh that blows a few errant strands of Lena’s hair across her face.

Lena watches the small blur of her for as long as she can, picks up her wine glass and stays out on her balcony until it’s finished.

9: “I saved a piece for you.”

Kara is late. Lena is trying to remain polite, her executive smile still plastered on her face, but her ability to make small talk with stuffy old white men is waning and she’s distracted by the fact that her girlfriend is late. Considerably so.

Part of her is miffed, Kara should have been here ages ago - she knows how much Lena hates these corporate events. The other part of her is worried - she’s sure the thing keeping Kara from the event must be something dangerous or DEO related.

“Please excuse me, gentlemen,” she says in what she hopes is still a polite exit, but she offers nothing else as she steps away from the group and walks across the ballroom to where Jess is standing, checking her phone.

“Jess,” Lena says, pulling her assistant around a large marble pillar and into relative privacy.

“She hasn’t texted, Ms. Luthor,” Jess says immediately, reaching into her bag to hand Lena her own cellphone.

“You’ll tell me if she does?” Lena asks, though she knows the answer. She swipes through her phone to confirm that Kara has not in fact reached out. She considers texting Alex or Winn or anyone just to get a status update, but restrains herself and hands Jess the phone back.

“Of course,” Jess says, putting the phone back in the bag where she keeps things Lena can’t afford to carry around the party with her. Her assistant must notice the look of worry Lena is sure is on her face because she leans a little closer and lowers her voice. “Kara will be here,” she says, trying to sound reassuring. “She wouldn’t miss that tower of a cake.”

Lena eyes the cake in question. It’s huge and when Kara had caught a glimpse of it among the event plans a week ago it was all her girlfriend could talk about for days. “You’re right,” she says with a chuckle, trying to relax. She puts a grateful hand on Jess’s arm, takes a deep breath and returns to the party.

A waiter passes and Lena plucks a glass of champagne off a tray, hoping the bubbly drink will distract her from both worry and boredom.

When Kara finally does show up it’s long after the event is over and Lena is back at home, devoid of her earlier dress and makeup and nursing a cup of tea on her couch. Kara looks tired, but otherwise intact and it settles the worry swirling in Lena’s guts.

“Hi,” she greets, setting her tea down and standing to wrap her arms around Kara’s neck. She presses a quick kiss to her girlfriend's lips.

“I am so sorry,” Kara says, hugging Lena back. “So so so so so times infinity sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Lena says, laughing a little at Kara’s apology. “What happened? I’ve been worried.”

Kara steps out of Lena’s embrace, shaking her head with clear exasperation. “Winn blew up some stupid locker that let out this weird chemical leak and they quarantined the whole DEO.”

“Sounds fun,” Lena says dryly.

“It was awful,” Kara says, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of orange soda. “I was stuck inside the med bay with Mon-El for like five hours with absolutely nothing to do and I didn’t have my phone with me and all the computers went on lockdown.”

“Everyone is okay though?”

“Yeah.” Kara takes a long pull of her soda. “How was the party?”

“Fine,” Lena shrugs, wrapping her arms around herself. “Dreadfully boring per usual.”

Kara hums, eyeing Lena with a narrowed gaze for a second before her eyes suddenly go wide. “The cake!”

Lena laughs. “Yes, the cake was wildly popular.”

Kara groans, setting her soda on the counter. “I can’t believe I missed the cake. Stupid Winn and his stupid explosive tests.”

Lena steps forward and rubs her hands up and down Kara’s arms reassuringly. “You needn’t worry,” she says, chuckling at Kara’s forlorn expression.

Kara’s gaze snaps to Lena’s, suddenly focused and Lena puts her girlfriend out of her misery. “I saved you a piece.”

“You are so my favorite girlfriend,” Kara says with a sincerity that makes Lena laugh, but Kara kisses her swiftly and the sound is swallowed up between their mouths.

14: “Can I have this dance?”

“We’re married,” Kara says and Lena laughs, reaches across the backseat of the limo to put her hand on Kara’s. “Like married.”

“We are,” Lena says, smiling at Kara’s wide eyed expression. “Are you just now realizing this?”

“We’re married,” is all Kara replies with, blinking at Lena. “To each other.”

“Darling, you were awake for the ceremony, right?”

“I just-” Kara shakes her head, her hair tumbling over her shoulders in pretty waves. “I’m trying to process.”

Lena knows the feeling. In all honesty she’s having a little trouble processing it herself. She twists the new addition to her ring finger around a little and just smiles at her - her - her…her brain stutters for a second before forming the word wife.

“Well, we might want to figure it out before we get to the reception hall and have to dance in front of everyone.”

Kara’s eyes go impossibly wide then and it helps calm Lena a little because she can focus on her wife’s freakout instead of her own. “We have to dance in front of everyone.”

“Mmhm,” Lena hums, tugging gently at Kara’s fingers even though they don’t move from where they’re clutching at the leather of the seat under them.

“I can’t dance in front of everyone,” Kara says, looking at Lena and turning towards her. “I mean my sister will be there!”

Lena bites at her lower lip, “What are you suddenly so nervous about? We’ve practiced it for months now.”

“I don’t know,” Kara says, her voice cracking a little. “I didn’t know I’d be this nervous! What if I step on your feet, what if I squeeze your hand too hard or-”

“Kara, calm down,” Lena says, running a soothing hand up and down Kara’s tense forearm. “You’ll be fine.”

“I am not fine and I will not be fine when I end up breaking your ribs while we’re dancing!”

“Okay, maybe we don’t need to entertain hyperbolic worst case scenarios.”

“I think maybe we do!”

Lena purses her lips before leaning forward to press a small button on the control panel near her seat. The intercom clicks to life. “George, could you pull over near the park please?”

“What are you doing?”

“If you’re that worried then we can cut out the first dance from the reception entirely.”

Lena was sure it wasn’t possible for Kara’s eyes to go wider, but they somehow manage. “We can’t cut out the first dance! It’s a tradition.”

“This isn’t exactly the most traditional wedding,” Lena laughs.

“Still,” Kara protests, but the limo is already rolling to a stop and Lena is opening the door and stepping out.

“Where are you going?” Kara asks, practically hissing out the question and scooting over on the seat to watch Lena exit, white dress bunching up as she steps out.

Lena leans back down to look through the door, extending a hand back into the car towards Kara. “Can I have this dance?”

Kara just looks at her hand, a confused crease between her brows. “Can you what?”

“We can cut it out of the reception,” Lena explains. “But you are giving me a first dance. If it has to be away from our family and friends, I can settle for that.”

Kara eyes the nearly empty park behind Lena, the relative anonymity it affords them and then looks back at Lena’s hand.

“So,” Lena says, smiling down at her. “Can I have this dance?”

Kara’s palm slides across Lena’s and an answering grin finally takes its place on Kara’s face. Lena pulls her wife out of the limo and tugs them a little into the park and behind a massive oak tree.

“There’s no music,” Kara comments even as her arm winds around Lena’s waist.

“Just dance with me,” Lena says with faux exasperation.

Kara grins down at her, pulls Lena up abruptly so that her feet leave the ground and twirls them, their laughter mingling together.

#this tag is for fic #prompt fill #otp: you could have fooled me #supergirl #supergirl fic #supercorp #supercorp fic #mooosicaldreamz

385 notes · View notes