Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 31: First Dates

“Hello little one.”

Astra stood in front of her in the family compound of the House of El. They were in Kara’s room. Instead of the black military suit that had haunted Kara’s dreams in the past, in this dream her beloved aunt was dressed in a white gown, similar to the one the blonde knew she had on.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why? Is it not what you call your little cousin? Or is he your brother? Have you decided who his father will be? Zor El, Jor El, or no one? He is going to find the truth in the crystals one day, Kara. He will hate you.”

Kara shook her head. “No he won’t. He will love me. I kept him safe, I have always been there for him from his first days. He will not hate me. He loves me!”

“Like you love me? And now you want to kill me. I wonder if he will have to, what is the English phrase? Take you down? Yes, I wonder if he will have to take you down when he is older. If he will have to defend mankind from you the way you feel you have to defend mankind from me.”

The blonde shook her head. “I am not a danger. Not like you. You are a murderer! My mother and father, my whole family are nothing but murderers! I am not like any of you!”

Kara walked to her window, looking out over the red city. Though she could hear no noise, the buildings outside were crumbling.

“But you are. You have finally taken your place beside us. And to make it better, you killed a Vrang. I am so proud of you. You know what it is like to murder another creature.” Astra whispered in her ear from close behind. “You know how good it feels.”

Kara closed her eyes, darkness covering her dream for a moment then the buildings crumbling outside were seen again. She could’t stop watching.

“I didn’t kill him. I saved a girl, I hurt him and I made sure he would never hurt anyone else. I called the DEO and they locked him up.”

Astra actually laughed, a harsh, bitter laugh almost, that made Kara flinch.

“You saw, Kara! You used your so called X ray vision and saw what you did. He was bleeding internally. His spine was gone. His nose was crushed and his jaw. Kara you didn’t just hurt him or stop him, you killed him. You saw the blood inside his body. His torso was destroyed. He wasn’t having difficulty talking, he was having difficulty breathing. The humans wouldn’t have the technology to save him even if they could prolong his beat him to death and you enjoyed it.”

“He was alive. I would have heard if he was dead.” Kara argued.

“Yes, because the DEO has been so forthcoming with you. Or are you talking about the man you lust after? The one you love who still sees you as a 13 year old little girl. You cannot be with him Kara, even if he wanted you. Don’t you want to be touched like a woman should be? There are many in my army who would be suitable mates for you. Men you would not have to treat like glass. Men whose only crime was following me when we stood up to your evil mother. Men who would love you despite who and what your parents were. You can be the future, the two of us, ruling a new house, the way it is supposed to be, guiding a new planet to safety and harmony. Ending all the infighting the humans do, uniting the world as one, under our rule.”

“Go away. You and your army are murderers. I didn’t kill anyone and I don’t want your power. This is not our planet. Our planet is dead. The Vrang was still alive. I know I am dreaming. You are a liar even in my dreams.”

“You let him hit you because you felt you deserved it. Once you got what you wanted, just a bit of your blood spilled, all restraint was gone. Kara, you toyed with him. It would have been simple to crush his jaw and leave him. He was trying to stumble away from you. You looked for the exact spot, the weak point on his spine and swung with all your power. You were smiling, niece! You did it on purpose because you liked it. You are a member of the House of El. Killers one and all. It is okay. Stop denying what you are. Join me and I will even let you kill Non. We can do it together.”

“I am not a killer!” Kara screamed, turning to face her aunt. She pushed the woman across the room onto the floor and stood over her.

“Look at you. Eyes glowing, fists ready, rage coloring your entire essence. My sweet Kara, what has happened to you? Astra asked with a soft smile that Kara thought showed pride. “You are so magnificent. You lack discipline but definitely have a killer instinct. Are you planning to stop with Non or am I on your list as well? Will you kill me?”

“Only if you threaten my family.”

“I am your family.”

“You are not my family!” Kara screamed then felt water hit her face. She did not understand where the water had come from. This did not feel like the harder textured water from vapor on Krypton. It felt cold. She saw darkness and felt another wave, over her eyes.

The blonde sat up, eyes open in her room, her real room. Her face and the pajama shirt she wore were soaked. Alex sat on the edge with a pitcher of ice water.

“What the hell, Alex!?”

Alex for her part, let out a relieved breath. She worried for her little sister. She thought the girl was having a nightmare but understood it was not fear she mumbled, it was anger. Then her eyes glowed behind the shut lids.

“I tried everything to wake up up. I even slapped the side of your head and put a finger in your ear. Nothing. You seemed to be wrapped up in your dream but before you fried the apartment building I figured I should douse your eyes. I could feel the heat even behind your closed eyelids.”

“Oh… oh no. I didn’t…”

“No, you didn’t. You never do. You just didn’t look happy so I wanted to wake you. I have to keep my Blondie happy.”

“By pouring water on my face?”

“Pinching and slapping didn’t work. I almost threw your fur ball on you to see if I could get a reaction. Water did the trick. Want to talk about it?”

Kara shook her head, not surprising the older sister. Kara rarely wanted to talk about her dreams outside of therapy.

Alex, satisfied that Kara was up and not catatonic today, moved to the kitchen to prepare coffee. Streaky was waiting for her on the counter.

“Hungry? You can wait. I have to take you to the vet this afternoon. You are going to get spayed and declawed. Its a very simple procedure I am confident I could perform myself but I am wasting Daddy’s money by sending you to a vet so Kara doesn’t think I am trying to perform surgery on her reclamation project.”

Streaky meowed a bit, more of a concerned tone, not liking the look on Alex’s face.

“She is too young to be declawed and spayed. I looked it up. I cooked breakfast yesterday. What is on today’s menu?” the younger sister asked, walking in and still half asleep.

“Cat is on the menu if you think I am not at least getting her declawed today.”

“What difference does it make? Whats the hurry? She isn’t hurting anything.” Kara pointed out. Alex marched to the back of the couch and beckoned her sister over.

“What do you see there?” Alex asked, pointing at a recent purchase.

“A scratching post we bought yesterday.”

“And what do you see there?” she pointed to the back of the couch.

“They could be claw marks, possibly from some sort of biological life form that has decided the fabric on the back of the couch would be a good place to shed the dead outer layers of its claws, or mark its territory or even to flex the claws in question while stretching its body. I can see what you are upset about but Streaky is just a kitten. She can’t take on every clawed animal that sneaks into our apartment and defaces our furniture.”

“Kara…”

“I will have a talk with her, I promise.”

“She won’t understand you! We declaw her.”

“She is too young. No vet will do it until she is older. I checked in case you got this idea in your head.”

“Then she goes in a kennel at night and when we aren’t home.” Alex countered.

Kara shook her head and crossed her arms. “You know how I feel about cages. You want to imprison her for doing what is natural for her? She will start using the scratching post. She was just marking her territory or something. There will be no imprisoning.”

Alex crossed her arms as well. “I can’t believe this. I am living with the crazy cat lady.” You are making your own breakfast. I am going for a run.”

“Just pick up donuts on your way back. Wait, don’t we have class in like an hour? You are going for a run?”

“Two hours. I set the clock ahead so you would get up and not wait until the last minute to shower. I’ll bring you back donuts if you can wait.”

Once Alex left, Kara took a long look at her most recent problem.

“Seriously? I can’t keep you safe from her. She isn’t an animal lover. Neither am I, honestly. But I am giving you a chance here. You have no idea how important it is that you don’t destroy things. She is a neat freak.”

Streaky walked over to her new box of toys and rolled out a carpeted ball, moving it with her nose towards Kara.

“No, I don’t have time to play. I have to get ready to go to classes that I don’t really want so I can prepare for a career field that I doubt I will live to enter.I don’t have time… don’t look at me like that! Do you know I blew the window out of our bedroom with heat vision once and Alex wasn’t even the least bit mad? You scratched the back of the couch and I promise you if not for me she would have thrown you out the window. We are six floors up and in a large city. I couldn’t just jump out and save you. Stop pushing the ball onto my feet. Fine, if I play will you try to listen? I know you understand English, at least the basics like scat and shoo. You ignore them well.”

Kara sat down and rolled the ball towards the kitten who promptly pawed it and rolled it back.

“I think I could skip class for this. Its more entertaining and you are easier to talk to than the people I am stuffed in those halls with. You would not believe how obnoxious the smell of so many body sprays can be. But I have to go. If I don’t, Alex calls Mom and Mom tells Dad and they both fly down here with my little brother cousin, which sounds so wrong, and then I am living with them. I miss them so much but it would break my heart if they sold the house I lived in. There are so many memories there. Yeah, a lot of bad ones, mostly things I did to myself. Yeah, pretty much everything I did to myself except for Hank Henshaw. The rest though are so good. I hold onto them when things get bad. Dad telling me he loves me, Mom running her fingers through my hair. Clark’s face when he saw his new bed, his first bed after he had figured out how to exit his baby bed and we all realized he could not fly.”

Kara took a deep breath.

“Alex is right. I am the crazy cat lady. Crazy alien, crazy cat lady. I have got to stop talking to you. This… paw the ball back. Good girl. Hey, you want to play with the stick and the furry fake mouse attached to the string? Lets see how good you can jump. You are going to have to develop very quick reflexes because Alex is fast and if you scratch the couch one more time and she catches you, then you are going to find out you can’t fly either.”

While Kara avoided getting ready for another exciting day of college, Alex was five miles into a six mile run and heading back to the apartment. Although glad that Kara had been attending therapy, or allowing it in their apartment, she still felt uneasy leaving her for longer than she had to, especially after nightmares like she had. Kara had expressed something new now, instead of fright she felt anger in her sleep.

Her thoughts were so consumed by her little sister that she had neglected to keep her senses open when running through an alley. Though not dark or dangerous by any means and full of daylight, there were several large dumpsters that she needed to be aware of.

Luckily her reflexes came back in the split second she needed them, allowing her to dodge an attack from the side, rolling and hopping back to her feet in time to dodge a kick to the head. Alex blocked a strike and swung, a straight jab to the abdomen, and spun into a chop with the blade of her hand to her attackers throat. Her hand was stopped as soon as she touched skin.

“Not bad, but if I had a weapon I could have shot you or stabbed you. Stop running in alleys. It may be daylight but they box you in. At least if you are going to be looking for trouble keep your head on a swivel, slow down or speed up around blind spots.” Connolly told her.

“Nice to see you too, Yoda.” Alex told him with a smirk. She hadn’t seen him since being in National City but knew they were set to resume training this weekend.

“How many damn times do I have to tell you I am a Sith? How are you?”

Alex shrugged her shoulders. “Besides getting randomly attacked in alleys and Kara’s stray alley cat tearing up my couch, pretty good. You enjoying being back in the big city?”

The man shook his head.

“Not particularly. I never would have thought it but I miss Midvale. Too much damn noise here. I’m heading to Dante’s and saw you running. Thought I would say hi.”

Alex laughed and shook her head. “You have the weirdest way of saying hi.”

“We are the weirdest family on this planet. And we are Alex. We are family. Make sure Kara understands that.”

“I will. I’ll try. So Dante is living in our building? I figured he wouldn’t be far from Kara.”

“Or you.” Connolly reminded her.

“Yeah but Kara is… Kara, to him. Why can’t you just talk to him at the DEO?”

“J’onn read his mind and he quit.” the man admitted.

Alex looked at the ground. “That Mar… man will never learn, will he?”

“I’m getting Dante back. I just gave him a few days to calm down. That Vrang Kara took out, he was the serial killer the police have been looking for the past few months. Tell her she did good, saved a lot of lives.”

The brunette picked up on his words immediately. “Was? She killed him, didn’t she?”

“No.” the Seal lied. “He was messed up no doubt, paralyzed but our doc is pretty damn impressive and has tech the average surgeon does not have available. Plus aliens are tougher to kill. Something to remember.”

Alex studied his face carefully then gave up. If he was lying she would never be able to tell and a part of her didn’t want to know if he was.

“By the way, I have something for you.”

Connolly walked back to the dumpster he had hid behind and grabbed a backpack, tossing it too Alex. She opened it up and found some sort of gun inside.

“If this has Kryptonite bullets…”

“It doesn’t. It does pack quite a punch though. Its some sort of plasma blaster. The power source seems to be renewing itself. It doesn’t have radiation, Webb has been carrying it for a while with no signs of being affected by it. Anyway, hit the button on the bottom of the barrel twice and it is ready to roll. We can practice with it this weekend. It will knock the hell out of a Kryptonian and probably go through any other alien you encounter. Keep it on you at all times. It won’t set off a metal detector. If you have to go on a plane give it to me and it will be waiting wherever you arrive.”

Alex held the lightweight gun gently.

“Any reason you think I should carry this constantly?”

“Yeah, how about you two have been here less than a month and Kara has already taken out one alien and she wasn’t even looking for one. We don’t know where Astra and Non are. Since we blew up Fort Rozz they could be in North Korea for all I know. But act like they are near. If you can knock them back but don’t feel you can get away, put this to one of their eyes and fire.”

The girl took a deep breath.

“Okay. Anything else before you beg Dante to come back to Big Greenie?”

“Yeah, just something to think about. That Vrang was slow. Very slow. Stronger than a human but not faster. He never should have been able to hit her, much less in the mouth. She let him and… self harm comes in a lot of forms, doesn’t it? Later Danvers.”

Connolly walked off, leaving Alex with the backpack, ray gun she supposed she could call it, and some unwelcome thoughts. She had assumed the Vrang was fast and Kara just wanted to gauge his strength but he was right. That was not why she let him hit her.

“Damn it.” she muttered, slid the backpack on and continued her run back at a faster pace.

Kara for the most part had a decent day in class. She had spoken to two more people, managed not to blurt out her information in one go, and learned names. Small talk though awkward also took place. She did not talk to herself… much… and did not clench her fists or experience rapid breathing or heartbeats. Alex texted her during class and Kara was able to look across campus now and find her sister. Watching Alex or at least knowing where she was, helped quite a bit.

After assuring her that she would call her sister if she saw anything strange on the walk home, Kara began her short journey feeling much better. The dream she had of Astra was almost forgotten. Kara had become much better at tuning out dreams over the years. A large part of her hoped that she could find another alien to fight soon but realized the more she fought the greater the chance of discovery and she was not ready for that now. Plans had to be made and a base of operations had to be established. Alex had to be armed, meaning Kara had to figure out a way to convince or manipulate Dante into getting the green substance out of the DEO.

Her thoughts of avoiding conflict left however when she checked out of curiosity to see if any other Vrang had taken up residence in the parking garage basement. To her surprise and excitement, she spied a figure, humanoid, most likely human, picking the lock of the door and walking down the stairs Kara had been in a week prior.

The blonde honestly forgot about calling her sister. This was no Vrang but a human, a tallish thin one, and Kara wanted to know his interest in whatever was going on down there.

She moved quickly and found the young man in the electrical room, looking around, appearing confused.

He also jumped when he turned and saw her. Taking a deep breath and already failing to hide the shock he met Kara’s eyes.

Kara herself was shocked. She hadn’t known what to expect but his eyes… his eyes stopped her cold. Any thoughts of an interrogation ended with a look. Her blues met his light greens and neither said a word for a moment, staring at each other. Kara took him in, 6’2, thin with thick dark hair, but stylish. He wore a light blue collared pullover and stone washed jeans, along with simple white sneakers.

Then he smiled.

“Hi.”

Kara shook her head, to get her bearings.

“Hi.”

Neither said anything for a moment, surprised but not sure why.

“You are probably wondering what I am doing here? I was just looking around.”

Kara shook her head again slightly and smiled. “Looking for what?”

The man shook his head. “It would probably sound weird. I’m Barry, by the way. Barry Allen.”

Kara looked at his offered hand and did something she had never done before. She introduced herself to a stranger using her entire real name.

“I’m Kara Danvers.”

And she wasn’t nervous.

“So uh, I’m good with weird. Its a little weird to hang out in an electrical room of parking garage but who am I to judge?”

Barry took a last look around and picked up a bag by his feet.

“I heard… there had been a serial killer active in National City recently. Anyway some internet rumor boards are saying that a girl escaped or was rescued last week but she wasn’t sure how. She also told the cops that a werewolf took her. Supposedly before the police could get here the FBI showed up and all video was erased. The police weren’t even allowed to investigate. I guess I just wanted to see if there was any truth to it. Everything looks normal. I was just about to pick the lock to that room. Could you maybe do me a favor and not tell anyone about this?”

“Okay… why would you care? Do you live near here?”

“Oh no… I… uh… I live in Central City. I go to CCU. I took the train last night and arrived this morning.”

Kara laughed, a genuine laugh, not the forced and fake one she usually delivered. What was this boy doing to her? As beautiful as his eyes were he was not Dante. He was thin and looked and acted as awkward as she pretended to be. Instead of being annoyed she was taken with him and reacting in a way she had never reacted to another new person.

“Wow. You came all the way to National City because you read some internet rumors? Why? Did you know the girl?”

Barry looked embarrassed and Kara felt bad for a moment. She hadn’t meant to put him on the spot, especially since she was the cause of those rumors he read.

“I’m interested in the unusual. More specifically, in stories about people who can do impossible things. Its kind of a personal quest of mine, I guess you could say… would you mind if I took a quick look in this room? Then maybe… if you don’t think I am like weird in a stalker type kind of way, maybe you would like to get coffee? With me I mean. Or tea? Its hot for coffee, maybe ice cream? Could I buy you ice cream?”

Kara laughed once again and he smiled shyly, probably realizing how awkward he sounded. That smile did something to the blonde. She did another thing she had never done before.

“Yeah, I would love too. I will be your look out. It has been a while since I took part in a breaking and entering. Enjoy yourself, I got your back.”

Barry nodded his head happily and turned back to the lock, hoping for some reason to impress her with his skills at a criminal activity. After a few minutes where Kara stood behind him, impressed at his earnestness if not his obvious lack of skill, the man succeeded.

Barry walked into the empty room and took a look around.

“This makes no sense. Why would there just be an empty room here? It must have been used for cones and replacement lights but nothing is in here. It has been cleaned out.”

“You think the FBI cleaned it out when they arrested the werewolf?” Kara asked, trying to maintain a straight face. What amazed her was he was right. He had taken a twelve hour bus ride to look at a room where she had actually nearly killed an alien a few days before.

“I don’t know. Look at the concrete on this wall. It is crumbled, like a large mass was pushed into it. It isn’t just cracked. Of course that could mean anything. This whole trip is probably a waste of time. I thought I might find something, hear something. You hadn’t heard anything about this?” he asked hopefully. “Seen anything unusual?”

“Nope.” she lied. “I didn’t even know there was a serial killer loose. I’m a freshman, just started. My sister and I moved here from Midvale, North Carolina.”

Kara heard herself speaking and couldn’t shut up. Why was she telling him this?

“So… ice cream?” he offered again.

“Sure, as long as it is in a very public place. You are visiting lairs of suspected serial killers. You going to tell me what makes a guy like you come all the way here to look at an empty room?”

“If you are sure you want to know, I would be glad to tell you, Kara Danvers.”

“Then follow me. I haven’t lived here long but I found a place that makes a great chocolate shake. Just let me call my sister so she won’t worry. I was supposed to meet her back at our apartment for Chinese.”

Kara stepped outside and pulled out her phone, moving away from Barry. He stood there and gave her a goofy grin when she met his eyes.

“Whats wrong?”

“Absolutely nothing. Just wanted you to know I would be a little late getting back. I have a… date. Ice cream. I told you I would go on three dates. He asked me out, I accepted and will be back later.”

Kara heard nothing on the other end for a few moments.

“Alex?”

“I have your location on the I phone tracker. Stop screwing around and tell me what the alien looks like. You are at the garage? Is it another Vrang?”

Kara could tell Alex was running, the bumping of the phone against her ear obvious.

“Alex slow down. I am actually going on an ice cream date. It counts, right?”

She heard her sister slow down.

“You are actually going on a date? With who?”

“A guy I met named Barry Allen. We sort of ran into each other. I don’t know much about him but plan what the date part is about. I have to go, he is waiting. Love you!”

Kara ended the call before Alex could grill her more. She had no doubt Alex would find her and watch from a distance but that was fine. For the first time in her life, Kara, for some strange reason, wanted to get to know another human.

The two made their way to an ice cream shop, grabbing two cones and a shake for Kara. Sitting outside, she asked Barry again what made him come all the way to National City.

“Okay, I don’t usually tell people this and it is probably going to freak you out.” the man for his part also had no idea why he was going to tell the beautiful blonde his history. He never really told anyone who didn’t know.

“I don’t freak out easily.” Kara assured him.

“Well, this I was ten my mother was murdered.”

“I’m so sorry.” she told him, wishing she hadn’t pressed.

“Thanks. My Dad… he was arrested for her murder but I know he didn’t do it. I was in the house, I had ran downstairs and saw my mother caught in a circle of lightning, inside our living room. I yelled for her and then I was ten blocks away, no idea how I got there. When I got back, my mom was dead, police were there and my Dad was being arrested. My Dad had been yelling at me to get back while Mom was circled and I know he didn’t do it. Of course nobody believed me. He went to prison and is serving a life sentence.”

“That must be so difficult. Were you… wow, I can’t even imagine.”

Kara meant it. At least she knew her parents and extended family were responsible for mass genocide. The idea of her mother or father or her adopted mother and father being accused of something they didn’t do would destroy her. The idea of losing either Jeremiah or Eliza… she couldn’t think about it or she would slip into the depression that ruled quite a bit of her life.

“Yeah, are you sure this isn’t freaking you out? Most people would be running from me right now. Probably why I never tell this too anyone, ever.”

“Then why me?”

Barry took her in and decided to be honest.

“I have no idea.”

Kara recognized the honesty. She also had no idea what she was doing here with the weird guy that followed werewolf serial killers all over the nation.

“So what does this have to do with you being here?”

The boy shrugged his shoulders.

“Nobody believed me like I said. So I figure if I can find something, anything that seemed impossible, maybe I could prove my Dad’s innocence. I doubt even if I did find proof, it would be enough to let him go. Maybe its for my own sanity, to reenforce to myself that I didn’t imagine anything that night.”

Kara nodded her head, understanding a bit about doing anything you can to hold on to your sanity. She suspected her definition of sanity was different than his.

“So… have you had any luck?”

Barry grinned, happy to see he hadn’t scared her off.

“I’ve never found proof but I have heard a lot of things, stories from reliable witnesses to amazing things that seem impossible. I saw a video when I was 12 on the internet of allying man and woman knocking two moving vehicles off the road. Of course the video disappeared quickly and was said to be a hoax. I heard a story posted by a couple Coast Guard sailors two years ago about a man who came from beneath the sea and was holding up a sinking boat by himself. Once they arrived, he went back under and never surfaced. I tried to find the sailors who posted the story and was met at my hotel but a couple Coast Guard officers who told me to drop it and stop spreading rumors about crazy tales their sailors mistakenly made up.”

“That does sound suspicious.” Kara told him, wondering what kind of alien with super strength could stay underwater and also breathe above the surface. The video Kara was very aware of and wondered who had taken it down so quickly and hushed the many witnesses. She would have to ask Dante about it. Her guess would have been Lane or Henshaw.

“Yeah but the coolest story I heard, the one I finally found someone to talk about was the angel of Gotham City Children’s Hospital.”

Kara froze for a moment, held her breath and wondered who talked that hadn’t been convinced by Dante or Connolly to keep quiet.

“Oh really? That sounds… an angel? Seems like that could be… different.”

“Probably so but I listened to a young fire fighter who was pretty lit at a bar in Gotham. It was a regular hangout for fire and police. Since I didn’t want to be arrested I drank my Coke at a table in the back but this guy was talking loudly. He said there was a woman in fire fighters gear who lifted a steel beam that shouldn’t have been able to move. He also heard that she managed to cut the debris in the fire escape with a cutting torch somehow and cleared the way. And supposedly… this gets a little or more strange I guess, a Captain claimed she opened jammed blast doors with her hands, put out a room that had been an inferno somehow without a hose and flew to the roof and supported the building while his men and the kids escaped. Nobody talks about it sober from what I understand but that is the story told around the bar. They call her the angel of Gotham City Children’s hospital or just the angel. Nobody talks about it sober and I have a feeling most firemen think it is just an urban legend or something but I think it is true.”

At this point, Kara knew she should get away from him. Thank him for the conversation and information on the web that she had apparently missed, and move on. It was time for her to go.

“So how long are you staying in National City?” she asked instead of saying goodbye.

Barry shrugged his shoulders. “My return ticket was for Sunday but since I didn’t find anything and the motels I can afford aren’t in the best neighborhoods, I should probably leave tonight. My foster father is going to be pretty mad when I get back. He really doesn’t like me doing things like this.”

Kara should have felt relief but instead felt disappointed.

“What if… I haven’t really discovered much about the city myself. We could, maybe take in the sights tonight? I have a motorcycle, we could ride…”

“You have a motorcycle?” Barry asked, not being able to imagine the beautiful, sweet and very accepting blonde in glasses as the motorcycle type.

“Don’t sound surprised. I rebuilt her myself. So I’m thinking since you came all this way we could maybe explore a little bit? If you wanted, I mean? I know a place you can stay for free. A friend of mine moved into my building but thinks I don’t know it. You could crash with him for the night.”

The boy grinned, the option of staying the night with a friend of hers not appealing but taking a motorcycle ride around National City would be pretty great.

“You don’t think he would mind?”

“No, I can get him to do almost anything.” Almost being the word that had irritated Kara since she began to develop romantic feelings for the man. Still, he said he loved her in some way, was willing to fight with her, moved into the same building thinking he could hide anything from her, so he shouldn’t mind a friend staying with her. He would probably be relieved to find out that she was interested in someone, even if that someone spent his free time chasing down proof of people like her.

Thirty minutes later, Barry stood outside in the hall while Kara talked to Dante inside, Connolly doing his best not to listen from the kitchen but unable to help himself.

“Absolutely not! Kara he needs to go back to Central City. He chases down leads on people…”

“Like me?”

“Like us! What are you even doing? You never talk to new people much less strangers or have ice cream with them. Never. He tells you about his hobby, oh and his father is in prison for killing his mother and you think its a good idea to go on a date with him? You asked him? When is your next therapy session?”

Kara became immediately irritated. “My next therapy session is none of your damn business. I know I am acting out of character but I figured you would be happy. Jessica is always saying I need to open myself up to other people and this is me doing that!”

“With the absolutely worst person you could find!”

Kara nearly growled. “Screw it. Thanks Dante. He can sleep on our couch. By the way, what are you doing here in this building? Stalker much?”

“I’m watching you and Alex’s back and making sure you don’t do dumb things like going on dates with guys who chase urban legends, two of which you are the major player in.”

“I… we, don’t need you to watch our backs. We can handle whatever comes. Forget it, I just asked for a favor and figured you would be happy. I was wrong. He stays in my apartment.”

Kara moved towards the door when Dante lay a hand on her shoulder gently.

“If you insist on doing this I would prefer it if he stay with me. I apologize for my rudeness. I hope you can see my point of view.”

Kara looked at him suspiciously. “You won’t try and scare him?”

“If he scares easily he probably doesn’t deserve to take up your time.”

The blonde glared at him. Dante threw his hands up. “Fine, I won’t scare him. Just be careful This isn’t like you.”

“I know.” the blonde admitted. “He is leaving on Sunday. I would just like to practice socializing with someone who doesn’t make me nervous.”

Dante let out a deep breath. “So I suppose you are going to see him tomorrow as well?”

Kara groaned. “What do you care Dante? Why does it matter to you?”

“I am just looking out for you, Kara. Bring him in. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

Kara smiled and then opened the door for Barry. The dark haired man walked in and took the surroundings in, then took in the long haired Indian standing by the bar frowning.

The man walked up and offered his hand.

“Dante Youngblood. You are welcome here.”

Barry did his best not to let the pain show from the man’s grip. He also noted the guy had really big arms with veins popping out on top.

“Barry, why don’t you drop your bag and freshen up then come up to my apartment after you relax? Its 706. You will probably only need to sleep here and I am sure my sister will want to meet you or she will follow us on our date.”

“What? Oh yeah. Let me… yeah.”

“I’m going to change so give me thirty minutes. I am sure Dante can be civilized that long.” Kara warned then smiled at Barry and walked out.

Barry for his part had become very nervous when another man walked out of the kitchen, gun in hand. He handed the gun to Dante.

“I cleaned it for you while I was waiting for Kara to be done. See you later. Nice to meet you, kid. I bet we might see each other again one day.”

Connolly patted him on the back hard as he left. The two men were now alone and Dante placed the gun in a desk drawer in the living room.

“Thats uh, nice of your friend… to clean your gun… are you related to Kara? She said you were a friend but you seem sort of… I feel like this is some sort of intimidation thing…”

“I am good friends with her parents and agreed to protect her when she and her sister moved here. My friend who left protects her sister.”

“Protect them from what?”

“Weirdos who travel across the country chasing fairy tales. Bedroom is second door on left, bathroom is the next room over. Kara hates body spray, especially Axe. Something to think about. Even from a distance, which is what you will be, it irritates her nose. I have six more guns to clean so I will leave you to it.”

Upstairs Kara was getting the third degree from her sister.

“What is wrong with you? Are you feeling okay? This is extremely out of character for you. Plus what this guy does, c’mon Kara, out of all the guys in National City, you decide to ask some nerd who chases impossible stories?”

Kara shrugged his shoulders. “I know Alex. I know this is a bad idea but you should see his eyes. And he isn’t a nerd. He is cute and his hair is awesome. Its dark but kind of reminds me of Justin…”

“His what? Did you say eyes? Since when do you look someone in the eyes that you don’t know?” Alex asked, thinking she couldn’t have heard that right.

“I know Alex, but his eyes. He has beautiful eyes. Besides I promised you three dates. Ice cream is one, tonight is two and I am gong to ask him out tomorrow for three. Then he will be gone and I will likely never see him again.”

The older sister shook her head slightly. She hadn’t heard that tone of voice in Kara since she began talking about Dante when she was 15. Maybe this could be good for her. If Kara found one person she didn’t suffer severe anxiety around, perhaps she could find others when this guy was gone.

“Fine. If you weren’t indestructible I wouldn’t let you near this guy.”

“You wouldn’t let me?” Kara challenged.

“I would call Dad.”

“Oh… I would appreciate it if we could keep this to ourselves until Sunday at least. You know he will fly down and they shouldn’t have to pay for a plane ticket.”

“Yeah no problem. I don’t want to deal with an interrogation about you unless I have to. Kara, are you sure? You haven’t had the best luck socializing since we have been here. What if you have a panic attack? Has he asked you about your past or any of your other triggers?”

“No, he told me his and it couldn’t have been easy for him. I know I haven’t had any luck but maybe this could help.”

Alex gave in. Once Kara decided she wanted something she was hard to turn down. Case in point being how much Alex wanted to throw the kitten out the window who was scratching the back of the couch as they spoke.

“Let me show you the the gun Connolly gave me. It is not Kryptonite but he says it works well against aliens.” Alex pulled it from the backpack the Seal had given her and handed it to Kara, explaining what she had been told about it.

“So it is a ray gun and he says it can hurt Kryptonians?”

“And kill every other alien, or at least those he has encountered. Do you feel better now?”

“As soon as I can study it and determine how it is powered. Barry shouldn’t be here for at least ten minutes. If it can’t pierce Kryptonians we should at least find out the damage it can do.”

Kara’s eyes never left the gun in her right hand as she pointed it to her left shoulder. She stopped from pulling the trigger when Alex’s hand went over the barrel.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?!”

The blonde shook her head. “You are right, we should test it after Barry is gone. I may not heal quickly…”

“No! You are not testing it on yourself Kara! You used to sneak away to hurt yourself now you are making lame excuses! You didn’t let that Vrang hit you to gauge its strength. That was just an excuse and you know it.”

“Alex…”

“Give me the damn gun now, Kara. If you ever touch it again I am giving it back to him. Swear to me you won’t touch it.”

“But… we need to know what effect it can have and he said it wouldn’t kill me…”

“Swear to me or I will find some way to destroy this.”

“Okay.” Kara told her. She had just wanted to test it to make sure her sister would be safe. That was what she told herself but deep down she didn’t believe it.

“This is exactly why I won’t keep Kryptonite in this place. We are having a therapy session together. We can conference call with Mom and Dad too. Nothing as changed. You are going to keep another journal and we are going to talk about this with Jessica.”

“If you tell Mom and Dad they will move here and make me live with them.”

“If you are still hurting yourself maybe we should. You were about to shoot yourself in the shoulder! I’m putting this away. Never touch it again Kara. We can have a session Sunday night. And if Streaky keeps scratching the couch I will kill her. Understand? You want to see the gun in action, she is a perfect candidate.”

“Don’t touch my cat, Alex. I told her she would be safe here. I’m not crazy about her being here either but…”

“I know you were playing with her this morning instead of getting ready. Cut it out Kara. You are attached to her. She is attached to our couch. Something has to give. The couch cost more than she did.”

Kara shook her head. “You don’t have to be mean about it. I will figure out something. In a few weeks she can be declawed.”

“In a few weeks our couch will be shredded material and boards.”

Alex was cut off from further complaining by a knock at the door. Kara used her X ray vision and to Alex’s shock actually smiled.

“Thank R… God. I was afraid Dante may have sent him running to the bus station.”

“You actually smiled when you saw him.” Alex whispered, disbelieving. “It wasn’t a fake smile.”

“Duh. I told you he had beautiful eyes.” Kara took a whiff of the air. “And he isn’t wearing any body spray, just deodorant. He is perfect.”

Barry walked in and was introduced to a shellshocked Alex. The older sister admitted he did have pretty eyes, not the grey that Dante carried and was glad this guy was the complete opposite of the former Seal. Maybe her little sister was finally getting over her hang up over an older guy she couldn’t have. Kara grabbed her riding jacket and handed Alex’s helmet to Barry who was a bit surprised by it. She then turned to Alex.

“We are going to the downtown area. It should be quiet this time of day. I think all the offices have closed. Do you want to come?”

“I don’t think there is room on the bike for the three of us.” Alex told her, sarcastically.

“Did you say bike? Like a motorcycle?” the boy asked.

“What the hell do you think the helmet is for?” the older sister asked then turned to Kara. “Please, answer your texts when I send them. I need to know you are okay, no excuses right?”

Kara felt herself blush a bit, wishing Alex wasn’t saying this in front of Barry but she supposed it could have been worse. Alex was probably more surprised by this than Kara was. “I promise, Alex. I will be okay. We won’t be out late.”

The two hugged and Barry followed his new friend out.

“So that is your sister?”

“Yeah, she is great. We both just started.”

“You are twins?” he asked, disbelieving.

“Oh… no, we… I can explain more when we get to where we are going. There is a place I read was really good for food and coffee, everything really. Its called Noonans, downtown. I have never been there.”

“Great… whoa! This is your bike?!” Allen asked once the elevator had opened and he realized she was climbing aboard this sleek black machine.

“Yep. I found her in a junkyard and rebuilt her myself. You like?”

“Uh… yeah. Its sweet! Okay, I realize since you can rebuild motorcycles I am going to sound like a huge wimp but I have never ridden a motorcycle much less on the back of one. How does this work? Is there an etiquette?”

Kara actually giggled, something she was not used to. The honesty of his question touched her.

“Put a leg on each side, feet on the small kickstands and your hands on my waist or on the seat. If it gets bumpy I would recommend my waist. Its easier to hold on to. Then just relax and trust me. I won’t go to fast. I know what its like to be a passenger in something that feels out of control. I promise you will be safe.”

Barry smiled at her, wondering briefly how he had gotten so lucky. He came down, knowing he shouldn’t chasing a rumor, knowing he would most likely find nothing but then he met a beautiful girl in glasses who offered him a place to stay with a very scary man but was taking him out on the town. Kara didn’t strike him as one who associated with strangers often.

She was beautiful. He noticed her eyes squinted when she smiled.

He pulled his helmet on and did as he was told, taking the offer to grab her waist. Despite not having the appearance of a typical athlete, Kara’s core felt like it as carved out of marble. Barry had never been this close to a woman who was in this kind of shape.

True to her word, she took it slow and he found the experience of being on a bike kind of cool. He had never considered himself a guy who was into speed but a large part of him would have loved for Kara to open the bike up.