8. An Introduction to National City's Heroes

“Be quick, okay?” Kara whispered, her head jerking from side to side anxiously trying to watch both sides of the corridor in the expectation that someone would come rushing from either end to find the three Catco reporters in the process of… ‘lingering suspiciously’ outside LYNX’s rooms.

“We were planning on dilly-dallying but now you’ve said that-” Winn replied sarcastically a few decibels above quiet.

Kara’s hand flew up to cover Winn’s mouth at the exact same time as James’. Winn spluttered indignantly beneath their palms as Kara’s nostrils flared and her eyes bored angrily into the tech expert’s.

“Go, already!” Kara commanded, pulling her hand away to flap it in the direction of the door to LYNX’s rooms. Winn shrugged at the order attempting to appear cool and collected. This, however, was undercut by the yelp of fright he let out when James yanked him backwards through the door without hesitation.

Kara huffed out a breath, turning back to watch the corridor like a hawk as she tried to appear nonchalant and casual by leaning against the wall. Unfortunately, appearing casual under even the best of circumstances wasn’t within Kara’s repertoire of skills. She was so focused on keeping her body from fidgeting, that her anxious energy transferred from her limbs to her face resulting in nearly every facial tic imaginable making an appearance.

The conversation with Alex yesterday had run long as Kara’s sister produced an extensive list of horrifying acts the three friends could commit to get even with Mike and LYNX. Kara vetoed about seventy-five percent of the suggestions, she wanted to knock Mike down a few pegs, not give him a serious injury despite Alex affirming multiple times that she had a far better understanding of employing fireworks this time around.

Whilst they devised their revenge, James phoned CatCo about what had happened prompting Cat Grant to immediately get in touch with the legal team which didn’t provide a very positive outlook. There was no clear evidence of theft, a virtual tour wasn’t a new idea, Winn’s work had used a lot of familiar coding ideas and it would appear LYNX were smart enough to make a few changes here and there to the base work to ensure it couldn’t be a direct copy. LYNX had also switched out a few of James’ pictures and the ones that James was positive were his, were of things all the media had taken pictures of.

Cat Grant, however, wasn’t deterred and ordered legal to push forward regardless but nothing likely would come of it for months and it would probably be resolved out of court through a financial settlement. To the three CatCo reporters, by that point, it would be redundant anyway as the Theonia coverage would have long been over,

With everything going on and the need to rush their next interview, Kara was unable to update Alex on the catastrophe with the chef, especially with Winn and James hovering nearby, but she promised to let her know what happened over skype tomorrow. Kara communicated this commitment through a series of charades which only seemed to confuse Alex and resulted in Kara huffing out a breath, murmuring she would text her later with a pointed gaze

After their interview with the agricultural minister, James took point on transcribing the questions and answers whilst Kara helped add written descriptions and historical facts to the tour Winn had created to differentiate what CatCo offered in comparison to LYNX. The rest of the evening was spent strategizing their plan for tomorrow, deciding it would be for the best to try the Royal Observatory again as they could spend the entire time trying to get citizens to open up and Snapper wanted to delay the write up from yesterday so as not to saturate the site with Theonian content which also allowed the interview with M’gann to remain the top feature for longer. This delay gave them time to try again at getting accompanying quotes.

“Miss Danvers.”

Kara leapt a foot into the air, her heart hammering against her rib cage and adrenaline spreading through her veins at breakneck speed. She had been so preoccupied staring down one end of the hallway and trying to think of a way to get the Theonian people to open up which didn’t involve overt bribery using chocolate, that she had completely forgotten about the other end of the corridor.

Kara’s fist came whirling round on instinct in the exact attack manoeuvre her sister had taught her, which she had already used to devastating effect on Winn and Snapper weeks ago.

Her punch was stopped in mid air by some of the fastest reactions Kara had ever witnessed.

The hand, now wrapped around her fist, gave a light, reassuring squeeze before letting her go, bringing Kara back to her senses with a jolt. In front of Kara, appearing just as pristine and put together as yesterday, was Captain Dunn. He was studying her intently like he had taken to doing when the opportunity arose, and outwardly appeared completely unphased by her attempts to give him a black eye.

“Err… Captain… good morning.” Kara stuttered out, her face turning a blistering red, “Sorry about the… uh.... You know…” The Captain remained unreactive and for whatever reason Kara took this as a sign that the soldier’s short term memory was lacking and therefore mimed out punching for his benefit.

Captain Dunn’s brow furrowed and he pursed his lips so tightly as he watched the reporter attack an invisible enemy. Kara’s fists dropped, after a worrying length of time, and she quickly folded them over her chest to reduce her ability of causing an international incident or unprecedented levels of embarrassment.

The Captain sighed in such a way that Kara could hear the ‘why me?’ that went with it. “How’s the stakeout going?”

The question, much like the soldier, seemed to come out of nowhere and Kara handled it with the same grace she had handled his unexpected arrival, “Stakeout? Pfft… What stakeout?”

The Captain continued to stare at her with those steely eyes.

The facial tics that had taken up residence on Kara’s face were at full capacity now and there was a minor flicker of concern in the soldier’s expression. Kara’s arms dropped to her side and she deflated noticeably, it would appear accepting that she had been caught released all of her nervous energy. “Fine.” Kara muttered darkly.

The Captain nodded once, grateful for either an answer or the truth, she wasn’t sure.

Silence settled over them and she hated the waiting for the reprimand that came with being caught, but the pause and the quiet allowed Kara to regain her faculties. The adrenaline running through her system filtered away and the total focus on what would happen to her if she got caught dissipated, allowing her usual empathy to take back control.

The Captain hadn’t said anything but he hadn’t left either… he seemed unsure of himself.

“Is everything okay, Captain?” Kara prompted gently.

The soldier shook his head ever so slightly as if to clear his mind, then asked bluntly, “Do you know much about rugby, Miss Danvers?”

Kara squinted at the Captain through her glasses with total perplexity, “Rugby?” She repeated dumbly.

“Yes, rugby.”

Kara’s mouth opened and closed a few times, feeling as if she was being faced with a similar test to the ‘Miss Danvers or Ma’am’ debacle, “Err… not particularly, if I’m being honest.”

“Rugby is our national sport.” The Captain stated, his hardened stare ratcheting up in intensity.

Kara genuinely feared that the final straw before being dragged to face ‘Frank The Executioner’ who she was now on first name basis with due to the number of horrific daydreams he had a starring role in, was her general lack of sports knowledge. She now wished she had shared Alex’s enthusiasm for any of the sports she would declare she had a favourite team in.

“The Skylarks are the National City team, they play at the stadium in the centre of the city.” The Captain continued, his tone heavier and laden with emphasis that Kara didn’t understand since she was too busy constructing ‘Frank The Executioner’s’ family tree in her head after feeling guilty that she had only ever presented him as the bad guy when he was just doing his job and doing it well.

“That’s nice….” Kara said slowly, the familiar deep crease appearing on her forehead.

“The stadium is worth a visit, wouldn’t you agree?” The Captain said, his lip twitching ever so slightly.

“Uh… yes.” Kara agreed, thinking agreeing with whatever the soldier suggested at this point was in her best interests.

“It’s meant to be sunny today, the perfect conditions to see the team practice…” Captain Dunn trailed off suggestively, leaning forward a small amount to emphasise his point.

Kara was really beginning to worry about the Captain since he hadn’t blinked once since he started talking about rugby and his eyes must be really dry by now. “I’m sorry, what?” Kara squeaked.

The soldier, finally blinked, his gaze going soft as the he tilted his head to the side and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I have been told that you are one of the most intelligent people I will ever meet.”

Kara froze, unsure how to react to such a compliment that seemed to come from out of nowhere, much like everything to do with this conversation.

“Who told you that?” She inquired curiously, unable to resist asking.

“An old friend.” The Captain murmured, a flicker of a smile appearing on the man’s face as he said those words, before he transitioned back into military mode: hands clasped behind his back, chest pushed forward, and a neutral expression.

“I believe you have the capability to figure out what I’m suggesting…” The Captain trailed off pointedly.

Kara swallowed thickly and ducked her head to avoid that penetrating stare; she did know what he was suggesting but yet again she was plagued by the infernal question of ‘why’.

Did the Captain feel so strongly about rugby that he believed it to be a travesty that the people he was being asked to protect knew little to nothing about it?

Was ‘Frank The Executioner’ waiting for her at the stadium?

Was the soldier trying to help them, give them guidance?

Or was it she ?

“But,” The Captain whispered drawing Kara’s gaze back up to focus on him, “it is, in all seriousness, entirely your choice about whether you wish to act on it.” He spoke with total sincerity and it did the trick in providing Kara some much needed comfort and security.

“I understand.” Kara nodded her head firmly.

“I’ll see you after breakfast, Miss Danvers.” Captain Dunn turned on his heel and marched away without a backward glance, leaving Kara to her stakeout without a single reprimand and with a decision to make.

The boys appeared less than a minute later with a mission complete confirmation. The three of them then scuttled back to their rooms, collected their belongings for the day and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. Kara’s appetite had returned to its fullest and she was taking advantage of them being early to load up on as much food as humanly possible. They all kept an eager lookout on the entrance, waiting to see if their revenge was successful.

It was after three pancakes, two omelettes, a small plate of bacon, another pancake and a heaping of eggs that Kara felt a light prod of James’ elbow to get her attention followed by an excited whisper of, “Here he comes.”

Mike stormed into the dining hall, his charming smile completely absent to be replaced by a glare filled with such hatred that all the reporters on the verge of bursting out in laughter instantly stifled their giggles. Mike was dressed in his signature smart casual attire of burgundy chinos, a pressed designer shirt and shoes shined to dazzle. The only thing not in keeping with his model perfect presentation was his hair. His hair and stubble were styled perfectly to create the handsome, boyish charm, the only issue was that the normally brown hair was a vibrant, almost putrid green.

Winn watched. Mike stamp by, with the most self-satisfied smirk Kara had ever seen, “Victory never looked so-”

“Green?” Kara chirped in, fidgeting giddily in her seat, pleased with their success and wanting to be involved in the teasing.

Winn glanced at her with a pitying expression, reaching over to pat her arm in sympathy, “Aw… at least you tried.” Kara pouted heavily at that, whilst Winn gave her a fond smile before turning to James and asking pleadingly, “Please, tell me you got photos?”

James snorted, shaking his head in exasperation before using the exact response Winn had given when James had implied doubt in his abilities, “Ye of little faith…” James lifted the camera he had hidden by his side up and handed it over to Winn, who was making grabby hands for it, “Have a look for yourself.”

Winn snatched it up quickly, but Kara knew James trusted Winn implicitly with his camera since the tech wizard was the only person who truly understood the value behind the piece of equipment. “These are incredible.” Winn whistled out in amazement, angling the camera so that Kara could see the pictures he was skipping through. “I might make one of them my phone’s background.” Winn declared, pausing on a particular photo where Mike in his red trousers, green hair and childish sulk looked like a grumpy christmas elf.

Kara let her two friends revel in their victory, cheering when required, but the boys were so caught up in their achievement that they didn’t notice she was quieter than normal, allowing her mind to go over her conversation with the Captain and weigh up the choice presented to her.

Admittedly, Kara had made her decision the moment after she had worked out what Captain Dunn was trying to tell her.

She was going.

She was too curious not to.

“Hey… “ Kara gently interrupted Winn’s post-prank breakdown and how they should have found a way to dye his skin green instead so that he fully reflected his literary equivalent, ‘The Wicked Witch of the West’. Both boys, recognising her unusual tentativeness went quiet without being asked and gave her their full attention, “So I was thinking… maybe…” Kara said the next part at high speed, going with the ‘rip the bandaid off’ approach, “we should go to the National City Stadium today…”

James tilted his head to the side, “Err... why?”

Kara took a deep breath, readying the ramble to be unleashed, “Well, using my extensive research into Theonian culture, if we look at page one hundred and thirty eight of what Winn lovingly calls my thesis-”

“Bored already.” Winn announced, throwing his head backwards dramatically to emphasise his statement, before shrugging and agreeing, “I’m in, if you stop reading aloud.”

Kara didn’t know whether to say thank you for his support or yell at him for his dismissal of the detailed explanation she had thought up on the spot. She decided to cover both bases by flashing Winn a pleased smile whilst also flicking his forehead with her middle finger. Winn winced and rubbed the red spot on his forehead, Kara ignored him to focus on James instead.

James shrugged as well and stated without hesitation as if Kara was asking him for the simplest thing in the world, “I trust you, let’s do it.”

Kara prayed to anyone listening that she was making the right decision and wouldn’t ruin the unconditional faith her friends had in her.

They finished breakfast quickly and headed to the atrium to find Sam and Captain Dunn in a hushed conversation by the entrance that they brought to a sudden end upon seeing the CatCo crew approaching. Kara didn’t need more than one guess to figure out their topic of conversation especially when Sam stepped forward and aimed her question directly at Kara instead of the three of them.  

“Plan for the day?” Sam asked, with her welcoming smile that Kara was now able to look past to see the apprehension in her eyes.

Kara cleared her throat, though her answer still came out uncertainly, “The... uh… stadium?”

“Good choice.” Sam declared, her smile easing back to her real one as she let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Captain Dunn gestured for them to move out and Sam told them to have a good time, but as Kara made to pass by Sam, a hand was placed on her bicep to get her attention. Kara turned to face Sam who looked at her almost pleadingly as she leaned forward so only Kara would hear and whispered, “Can I just say… keep an open mind..”

“About rugby?” Kara checked, blinking in confusion at Sam.

Sam pursed her lips, hesitating before replying stiffly, “Yeah… rugby…” Sam leaned away, her hand moving off Kara’s arm to push forward another platter of delicious cupcakes, and give a light, pointed order of, “Take a guilt cupcake.”

Kara grabbed four, claiming they were for the entire team, Sam gave her a look that heavily implied she saw through the blatant lie but waved her away for the day with a light chuckle. As Kara had predicted, Captain Dunn turned down a cupcake which Kara scoffed down once she had finished her first one, James seeing the fire in her eyes wisely offered Kara his own, Winn made to take the cupcake Kara offered until he saw the minor nostril flare that indicated the harm that would befall him if he actually took Kara up on that offer.

Kara consumed all four cupcakes during the car journey to the stadium, her only regret being that she hadn’t taken more since they were probably the best cupcakes she had ever had.

The National City Stadium, home of ‘The Skylarks’, was a steel and glass coliseum with blue banners hung at various intervals depicting individual team members in action poses. The stadium was an awe-inspiring sight and Kara gaped up at it as their car pulled up to the very front entrance, where a broad chested, giant of a man in a pinstriped suit appeared to be waiting for them. The CatCo team shared a curious look between them as Captain Dunn opened the doors for them and they clambered out to greet the welcome party.

“CatCo media, right?” The large man asked with a broad grin, extending a terrifyingly huge hand out for them to shake.

“Err… yes.” James answered for them, bouncing up and down with the force of the man’s exuberant handshake. “Were you expecting us?”

“Of course.” The man replied eagerly, taking them all in as if they were guests of honour, “Please follow me and we can begin the tour.” He gestured with a sweep of his arm to the looming building behind them and began to lead them inside.

“What’s going on?” Winn murmured under his breath to his two friends that were looking as surprised and perplexed as he did.

Kara bit her tongue keeping her suspicions, and the weird uptick to her heart rate that went with the green-eyed woman she suspected to be the main cause, to herself.

“I have no idea, but I say we go with it for now.” James whispered back, placing a hand on either of his friends’ shoulders to push them forward when he noticed Captain Dunn had moved ahead and was nodding for them to keep up.

It took the three of them an embarrassing forty five minutes of the tour to figure out exactly who their tour guide was.

Ian Haisley, manager of the Skylarks, was giving them a personal tour of the entire facility, taking time to explain the rigorous training programme and the actual sport when he realised how limited their knowledge was. Kara nodded along to the best of her ability, trying to get as excited about the state of the art gym as James or the sports analysis employed by the club as Winn. Kara even caught Captain Dunn listening eagerly with secretive childlike wonder when Mr Haisley revealed a few anecdotes about the players revealing how big a fan the blank faced soldier probably was.

By the end of the tour James was converted to seeing the greatness of rugby whilst Winn still didn’t overly see the appeal but also liked to show enthusiasm whenever James rarely indulged in a hobby or passion. The final part of the tour took place in a multipurpose sports hall and involved one of the coaches offering to take the CatCo team through a few set pieces, showing them how to tackle and throw the ball. James jumped at the chance, Winn paled but was pulled forward by his friend before he had a chance to complain even their guardian finally lost his battle with hiding his excitement and stepped forward quicker than was typical for his military role. Kara was dressed in a yellow sundress and slightly heeled shoes, so wasn’t dressed to really get involved, the coach though insisted, much to her delight, that she throw the rugby ball around and get a feel for the game regardless. Kara took to the technique far quicker than her colleagues but bowed out for the tackling and running around. She fell onto a bench lining one side of the room where the team presumably rested between drills, and started to get a jumpstart on her note taking.

Mr Haisley wandered over to her after watching Winn fail to receive a throw from James a couple of times and asked if he could join her with a polite nod of his head and by pointing at the spot next to her. Kara smiled widely at the request, adoring how the large, looming man was respectful and courteous at all opportunities.

“Would you be interested in seeing the trophy room whilst your colleagues get run ragged by the coach?” Mr Haisley inquired with a cheery smile between big red cheeks that Kara couldn’t bring herself to say no to because he definitely looked like a younger version of Santa Claus.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Kara agreed, showing her enthusiasm for the kind suggestion by decisively putting away her notepad and pen.

“This way, please.” The rugby manager got to his feet and held out a hand to help Kara to her feet, before leading her away just as James got tackled brutally to the ground by Winn who let out a whoop of victory.

Kara had forgotten over the course of the tour her original suspicions.

She had been so caught up in her friends’, and Captain Dunn’s, enthusiasm and excitement that she had lost sight of what, or should she say who, probably organised all of this for them.

She remembered, however, the moment they approached the set of double doors flanked by two royal guards.

Kara’s heart plummeted and fluttered in fear and anticipation.

Mr Haisley gave her an encouraging smile and nodded for her to go inside, this obviously being the place where they parted.

Kara stared at the doors in front of her, knowing exactly who was waiting for her on the other side and trying to work out if she actually wanted to see her.

Did she really want to be confronted by that cold, distant woman?

Did she really want her heart and self-esteem to take another unwarranted beating?

Did she really want to be disappointed when it wasn’t a casually dressed, slouching angel waiting for her on the other side?

What Kara really wanted was for all her fears and worries to be proven wrong. It was that secret, ever hopeful desire that provided her with enough courage to take a deep breath and push forward through the double doors.

The trophy room consisted of a glass cases filled with glittering monuments of victory, framed pictures, leather couches were placed around the room encouraging people to stay and admire the contents whilst the light blue walls were covered with royal blue banners that were dedicated to years when the Skylarks had won the national league.

The entire room, though, fell away and Kara barely even registered the door clicking closed behind her as she was far too occupied with reprimanding her heart for skipping a beat at the sight before her.

The Queen was pacing back and forth and Kara was convinced she could see a track in the blue carpet were the Queen had been wearing it away with her heeled, heavy steps. The Queen was dressed in a knee length, wrap-around, emerald dress that Kara was convinced made her green eyes just as vibrant as they used to be when reflecting the light of the fire warming the kitchen they used to meet in. The Queen was wringing her hands together nervously and her lips were moving as if muttering a speech under her breath, but she instantly froze upon seeing Kara. Her entire body tensed up, her green eyes went wide and her moving jaw snapped shut as she stared at Kara as if she was the last thing she expected to see.

Kara hated how she felt herself lighting up at the adorable nervousness present in the woman in front of her. She forced herself to remember the venom of the Queen’s words and the fury burning in her eyes.

Kara pursed her lips, dipped into only a slightly unbalanced curtsey, averted her eyes from the pleading green ones to look at the ground at curtly said, “Your majesty.”

“Kara. You don’t-... please, stand up…” The Queen’s voice was cracked and stuttering, and Kara could hear the wince that had followed her own greeting.

“At once, your majesty.” Kara replied, lifting herself up and only allowing herself to glance up at the raven haired woman once she felt like she had suitably schooled her features.

The Queen was halfway through stepping forward, her hands were half raised from by her sides as if wanting to reach out and touch Kara. Kara regretted her terse words as she watched the Queen’s hands quickly tried to hide their movement by being clasped in front of her body to prevent further attempts to connect with Kara. The Queen bit her lip and nodded to herself in resignation, “I’m sure you figured out this was coming.”

Kara shrugged, unable to make the action as dismissive as she had originally planned, finding herself softening ever so slightly to this meeker version of the Queen. “I had my suspicions. What I don’t understand is why, your majesty?” Kara asked, emphasising the ‘your majesty’, whilst she crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

“Please don’t-...” The Queen’s whispered plea sounded on the edge of begging and she accompanied this with a timid step forward, closing the large distance between them ever so slightly. The Queen looked at her beseechingly, “I wanted to apologise but before that… I think we should actually introduce ourselves.”

Kara shifted on her feet, dropping her gaze back to the floor, muttering disappointedly, “I already know who you are, your majesty.”

“Yes, you do… but I don’t think you realise that.” The Queen’s tone was soft and inviting enough to encourage Kara to look up and find that caring, concerned expression that she had been deprived of seeing for the last couple of days. It was the chef in Queen’s clothing that took a deep breath and forced a bright smile, flashing that rare one dimple, “Hello, my name is Lena Luthor. I love cooking, I have never had the good fortune to read a book I can’t put down and I can’t bake souffles,” Lena followed this with a minor flinch and a barely audible addition of. ”I have no idea why, they should be so simple.”

Kara swallowed thickly, not ready to relinquish the hurt the Queen had inflicted on her without an actual apology, “Kara Danvers, bumbling, doting innocent - no, wait - I’m actually a vulture in disguise.”

Lena winced and mumbled, “Okay, I deserved that.”

“Uh huh.” Kara hummed in agreement, pushing down the twitch at the corner of her mouth that indicated the desire to smile at the green eyed woman’s shy awkwardness.

“I’m sorry.” The apology came quick, and Kara was so taken aback by the earnest statement that she almost didn’t hear the rushed speech that followed, “I don’t expect you to forgive me, especially not after how I treated you. That was inexcusable even if you had done the things I accused you of.”

“Look-” Kara began, finding her voice all of a sudden, her heart thumping with joy whilst her stomach felt tight and wobbly with the expectation that the floor would fall out from under her at any second now.

“Please, let me…” Lena continued, speaking over Kara before she stopped all of a sudden, her expression shocked and filled with guilt, “God, I’m doing the exact same thing I did last time. I’m not letting you speak. Why do I keep doing this?” Lena aimed the question at herself, gesturing widely in annoyance at her own actions. Kara hid the snort of amusement as best she could but Lena must still have heard it as she gave Kara a fluttering smile as she took another step forward and said, “Please, go ahead.”

Kara’s desire to escape before the rug was tugged out from under her feet diminished significantly as a flicker of that security and safety that she used to feel in the chef’s presence came to life, “Just say what you’ve got to say.” Kara encouraged with a restrained smile.

“Right... thank you.” Lena exhaled out her gratitude, blushing with delight and surprise as Kara gave her a chance to say the speech she had obviously planned, “The second after you left I wanted to say sorry… but I didn’t know how…” Lena cleared her throat, and it was clear that what she was about to confess made her feel uncomfortable, vulnerable even; Kara’s tightly crossed arms loosened their tight grip in response. “One of my biggest faults is that I don’t like people seeing me as fallible. I haven’t been allowed to make a mistake for years now… that’s kind of why I only cook at night, no one will ever know if I get it wrong… it’s the only chance I have to be just me .” Lena glanced away from Kara, her gaze heavy with a deep grief that fractured Kara’s heart far worse than the scared insults the Queen had thrown at her. “Anyway,” Lena’s tone became lighter, a personal attempt to pull herself away from whatever darkness she had been reliving, “I got some incredible advice from my top advisor, who told me I should show you that I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Kara’s arms dropped fully out of their defensive crossed position and she tilted her head to the side, “And how do you plan to do that?”

Lena pursed her lips, obviously worried that whatever she was about to be say next would undo the breakthrough she had clearly had with Kara, “This is going to sound like I’m making excuses, but I need to explain a few things first.”

“I’m listening.” Kara replied genuinely, willing to take a chance on Lena.

Green eyes shone brighter than Kara had ever seen them and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling in return.

“I’ve been Queen for just over two years now, but before that I was the rebel princess, a symbol for overthrowing my brother.” Lena spoke more confidently, her usual self-assuredness coming back now that Kara was actually hearing her out. “I haven’t been Lena for over five years, except with a handful of people and most of them I had to give up in a lot of ways when I became Queen. People have gotten glimpses of who I really am over the years, and apart from that original handful, they’ve all tried to take advantage of or hurt me with what they know.”

Kara’s heart stuttered uncomfortably at that admission and the blaring truth of it.

‘How many people had hurt her?’, Kara wondered thinking back to that flash of hurt she had seen slip through Lena’s mask when she had first found out Kara was a journalist.

How many had broken her trust?

How many had it taken for Lena to feel like she had to bury herself behind her crown?

Kara hoped they had gotten their comeuppance but something in the way Lena had dismissed her and yet had done nothing to make her stay at the Palace unpleasant made Kara heavily doubt that any revenge or justice had ever taken place.

Lena intuitively picked up on Kara’s inner thoughts and turmoil because she took another step forward, finally putting her within arms length and emphasised her next declaration to make sure Kara heard and took in what she was saying.

“I swear this isn’t me trying to get your sympathy after what I did, I just wanted you to understand that it had nothing to do with you . You did nothing wrong and gave me absolutely no reason to doubt you. This is all on me.” Every self-doubt that had been plaguing her since her meeting with the Queen disappeared upon hearing Lena’s earnestness. “You saw Lena those two nights. You met the real me, not just a tiny slither but the whole damn thing. And when I realised you were a journalist, after presuming you were a Palace worker, I panicked.” Kara blinked at her in surprise, despite remembering how flustered the chef got when her souffle failures were about to be discovered. “You saw everything and I assumed you would hurt me with that.”

“So you hurt me first.” Kara guessed sadly but with a far more understanding undercurrent to her words now.

“Yes.” Lena choked out quietly in agreement, “I assumed I couldn’t trust you. So now I intend to show you that I won’t make the same mistake again.” Lena spoke decisively and with fervour, a fiery passion and determination appearing in her eyes, “I am showing you Lena, I’m showing you that I can screw up and make mistakes like everyone else but more importantly I am going to trust you with the thing I love most in this world.”

Kara flushed bright red under the attention of Lena’s ardent commitment to making things right with her. She futilely fiddled with her glasses to hide her the blush as she murmured, “And what’s that?”

Lena inhaled sharply and reached out to hesitantly, giving Kara all the time in world to refuse her touch, take Kara’s hand. Lena’s fingers made contact with Kara’s skin and her face broke out into a pleased and thankful one-dimpled smile. Kara almost didn’t hear Lena’s answer when she was faced with a real Lena Luthor smile and the warm, buzz of electricity racing through her from their point of contact, “My people.”

Five minutes later, the two women, accompanied by at least two visible soldiers, were walking into the sports hall the manager had led Kara out of and where four men drenched heavily in sweat were recovering from their intense workout. James and Winn were slumped on the floor, rubbing their aching, bruised muscles and letting out grunts of pain, whilst Captain Dunn and the coach looked none the worse for wear except for the more pant-like breaths they let out than normal.

The Captain and coach noticed the women’s arrivals first, instantly bowing deeply and Lena gave them a warm smile as she waved her hand for them to straighten up.

Kara fidgeted nervously on the spot, side-eyeing Lena regularly and unsubtly, waiting for Lena to make her presence known to her oblivious friends and fearing a reprisal for their lack of immediate acknowledgement. Lena, who had let go of her hand upon leaving the trophy room shot her a reassuring smile and Kara forced out a deep breath to get control of a nervousness she could only most closely relate to the time she introduced her high school boyfriend to Alex and Eliza. Kara tried to ignore the obvious meaning that came with such a parallel.  

Winn let out a loud groan of pain, throwing his head back to emphasise his suffering but the sudden movement allowed him to catch a glimpse of the two women watching him and James. Winn went pale rapidly as he recognised who was standing beside Kara watching him with an amused smirk. Winn’s mouth opened and closed rapidly as he nudged the collapsed form of James with his elbow harshly.

“That’s… that’s…”, Winn stuttered in shock.

James, finally, looked up with an irritated expression, obviously on the verge of snapping at Winn for digging into his not yet visible bruises, when his face went equally slack upon making eye contact with Lena.

James was on his feet faster than Kara thought humanly possible and hoisting Winn up like he weighed nothing before placing a hand on the tech nerd’s back to shove him into a bow at the same time as himself. Kara threw a hand over the lower half of her face to stifle the snort of laughter at her friends’ actions. Lena, however, strolled forward, without pause, extending a hand for them to shake alongside a light, unworried smile.

“Mr Olsen, Mr Schott,” Lena greeted and Kara had to admit she was impressed Lena had taken the time to look up her friends’ names, “it would appear good fortune has led to our meeting.”

“She knows our names.” Winn whispered in awe to James out of the other side of his mouth as they both rose up out of their bows.

James ignored Winn to focus on the Queen, he shook her hand and tried to regain some of his usual cool and professional demeanour, not to much success Kara noted by the minor tremor to his hand and the creepily wide smile on his face. “Your majesty, it’s an honour.”

“The honour is all mine.” Lena responded sincerely, not drawing attention to the reporters’ nerves or awkwardness thus preventing them from becoming embarrassed. “The photos you took of my capital were outstanding, you really captured what I love most about it in your pictures.”

James and Winn blinked in shock whilst Kara tried to hide the swoon that came with Lena’s earnest compliment.

Kara couldn’t quite fathom that the Queen of Theonia had gone out of her way to learn about all the reporters, or (and this thought made Kara’s heart flutter) to learn about the people important to the blonde.

“Thank you, your majesty.” James gratefully said once he remembered how to speak.

Lena accepted the thanks with a nod before turning to give Winn her full attention; the tech master twitched on the spot wanting to be obscured from view by ducking behind James.

Lena bowed her head in deference, “And I believe I owe you a debt of gratitude, Mr Schott.”

“Wh-... uh… me?” Winn spluttered, his hands flapping wildly, “I think you may have me confused with someone else, your majesty.”

“You are the Mr Schott who set up a wifi network and allowed your fellow reporters access, are you not?” The Queen retorted with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well... yes, your majesty.” Winn slowly agreed.

Lena held out a hand for Winn to shake, and when he finally gathered the nerve to take it, she stared him directly in the eye to emphasise the following, “Thank you, Mr Schott.”

“Pfft… it was nothing, your majesty… all in a day’s work.” Winn flicked a hand, trying to appear nonplussed by the Queen’s gratitude but failing epically as he turned a bright red.

Kara adored that Lena had taken the time to talk to her friends, she was much less pleased to see the heart eyes the boys were sending Lena’s way. That minor irritation vanished, however, when Lena looked back at Kara with twinkling green eyes filled with care that were checking to see if the blonde was happy and still comfortable with her presence.

Reassured Kara didn’t want her to leave just yet, Lena looked between the three reporters hopefully, “Whilst you’re all here, I must take this opportunity to introduce you to the team.” She gestured to Mr Haisley who had appeared in the doorway and he bowed deeply before holding the doors to the hall open ready to lead the way. Lena shot Kara a wink as she strolled forward and revealed to the group, “I’m not allowed to have favourites but the Skylarks do hold a special place in my heart.”

“That sounds wonderful, your majesty.” James declared almost breathless with admiration. James glanced over at the blonde who hadn’t said a word so far, “Don’t you think, Kara?”

“Wonderful.” Kara repeated sincerely, earning her another viewing of, her re-cemented favourite sight of all time, a one-dimpled smile.

Mr Haisley and Lena led the CatCo representatives through the long corridors, flanked by the combined security team which Captain Dunn took charge of without any complaint from the other soldiers.

Kara maintained her relative quietness for the walk, not trusting her ability to hide her growing feelings under the scrutiny of her friends despite their own infatuations being glaringly obvious. James, Lena, Mr Haisley and occasionally Captain Dunn shouldered the majority of the conversation, the main topic being the Skylarks incredible victory run last year. Lena had attended the final and confessed to being unable to stop herself from cheering when the Skylarks made a winning try in the last five minutes of the game. Winn followed along like a lovesick puppy and Kara would have teased the tech nerd were it not for the fact that whenever Lena glanced back to check up on her, she turned such an illuminating red that if she ever failed at being a journalist she would make a particularly effective stop sign.  

Silence settled over the group the moment daylight appeared and as Kara stepped onto the rugby pitch, she couldn’t help missing Alex, knowing how much this entire day would have meant to her sports enthusiast sister. She was thankful to see James was taking numerous photos and Kara made a mental note to ask if she could send them to Alex later.

Running across the pitch in mismatched workout gear was an array of men, some huge and looming like Mr Haisley whilst others were closer in height to Winn but seemed to have ungodly speed which Kara had only ever witnessed at track meets. A blonde haired player who had been running a drill spotted the group and more importantly Lena, he immediately called the exercise to a halt and gathered the team together, all of them lining up and bowing deeply on instinct as if it was something they did regularly.

“Your majesty.” The entire Skylark team intoned once Lena had walked close enough to hear them.

“Hello, everyone.” Lena greeted with a warm tone of familiarity, as she indicated for them all to rise up out of their deferential bows. “How goes practice for the upcoming season?

“Good, your majesty.” The blonde player answered with a gentle smile, Kara assumed him to be the team leader as the rest of the team looked to him to be the speaker. The player was mid-height when compared to the rest of the team, his hair was sandy and long, being held back from his face by a white band, his face was stubbly and rounded, and he had chocolate brown eyes exuding friendliness.

“Do you think you can hold on to the title this year?” Lena inquired, crossing her arms and scrutinising the team closely with a hardened gaze. None of the players blinked at the unnecessarily firm tone that Kara thought was a bit harsh until she heard Lena speak again and understood this to be a standard rapport. “I don’t think I can suffer the teasing from my chief of staff if you let the Reignhold Lions take it from you.”

“We won’t let that happen, your majesty.” The blonde player assured as the team chuckled and nudged each other in playfully.

“That’s what I like to hear.” Lena asserted with a victorious smirk, she then turned to the CatCo team and invited them to come forward, “Allow me to introduce, James Olsen, Winn Schott and Kara Danvers. They are american journalists but don’t hold that against them, by far their worst trait is their limited appreciation for the greatest sport of all time.”

The Skylarks let out loud groans and good natured boos at the last statement but Kara and her friends merely laughed and ducked their heads in over the top shame.

Lena waited for the sound to settle before gesturing at the players in turn to introduce them, starting with the blonde team leader, “This is Daniel Kosta, the Skylark’s team captain and scrum half. Though he may be one of the best rugby players in the country, his heart and greatest ability lies with the cello. I have been trying to convince him for years now to give up rugby and join the royal orchestra but he seems to be impervious to my demands.”

Daniel Kosta, secret music prodigy let out a full bellied laugh but didn’t deny any of the facts Lena presented.

When Lena had stated the thing she loved the most was her people, Kara had presumed Lena was honest in that declaration but she had also assumed Lena had meant it in the same way Kara loved potstickers.

But she hadn’t.

She had meant it in the way Kara loved Alex.

With her whole heart. With everything. Unconditionally.

Kara watched as Lena introduced every player by name and gave an anecdote to go with each of them, changing her tone and expression to suit the Theonian’s personality. She was loud and almost boisterous with some, quiet and soft-spoken with others. She took pride in knowing her subjects, her smile and eyes were positively luminescent whenever she managed to pull forth a laugh or a grin.

It wasn’t until Lena was reciting the full back’s children’s names without needing even a moment to pause that Kara fully realised how giant a deal it was for Lena to be doing this.

To be trusting Kara with her people.

Lena was putting her name, reputation and the adoration she had gathered through hard work and commitment on the line to apologise to an american journalist, who in the grand scheme of things Lena actually knew very little about.

Comprehension of this caused Kara’s breath to come out in a stutter and for the hurt Lena had inflicted to fully heal over, encouraging her heart to expand in size.  

“The Skylarks are some of the bravest and most selfless people I have ever met. They are nothing less than national heroes.” Lena asserted upon finishing her round of introductions.

“Your majesty, that’s hardly true.” Daniel humbly refuted, with what would appear to be an uncharacteristic shyness for such a large man but, from how Lena had introduced him, Kara now recognised this to be perfectly in-keeping with his personality.

“I and many residents of this fine city would beg to differ.” Lena said, arching an eyebrow, playfully daring the team to argue back.

Kara looked between Lena, who was shining with pride whenever she looked at the players, and the team themselves, who all seemed to glow at the compliment. The journalist instantly sensed a story and couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What happened… err… your majesty?” Though, Lena had made it clear she wanted Kara to refer to her by her first name, Kara wasn’t dense enough to think that applied in public as well.

“Well… Daniel, you tell the story far better than I, would you feel comfortable sharing it?” Lena shifted the responsibility of storytelling to Daniel with ease providing CatCo with an opportunity like no other, “I would like our rugby players’ reputation to precede them before we send a team to win the world cup.”

“Ahhh… there it is.” Daniel called out gleefully, “The real reason you wanted us to join the rest of the world, your majesty.”

“Guilty as charged.” Lena held up her hands in surrender, before gesturing to Kara to come closer, “Daniel?” Lena requested.

Daniel rolled his eyes as his teammates shoved him forward, cheering out his name as he stepped up to the role of storyteller, “The story is nowhere near as impressive as her majesty has undoubtedly led you to believe.”

Kara pulled out her notebook and gave the rugby player, who nodded his consent to her recording their conversation, a bright smile. “I would still love to hear it anyway.”

During one of the more destructive riots and military crackdowns that overtook the city, the Skylarks had been training at the stadium. They heard the sounds of violence and people in distress, without any thought to their own safety, the entire team ventured out into the streets, finding as many innocents and those that needed aid as possible and brought them to the stadium where they could be sheltered and protected. The team received numerous injuries for their efforts and were out searching for people all day and for most of the night, carrying injured citizens despite their exhaustion for hours without a single complaint.

Kara, James and Winn gathered as many stories as possible from the players. She made sure to get quotes regarding their excitement about getting involved in the international rugby scene and some anecdotes about their lives and rugby to counterbalance the heavier tales. Lena excused herself to speak with Mr Haisley and stand on the sidelines, allowing CatCo unimpeded access to the rugby team, and though, Lena appeared fully occupied, whenever Kara managed to peek over at the raven haired woman, a smile was always waiting to be directed her way.

By mid afternoon, the reporters wrapped up so the team could get back to training, and Kara was already eager to get back to the Palace to begin writing. She even had a title for her next article: ‘An introduction to National City’s Heroes’.

Lena was still standing on the sidelines, waiting for them to finish. James and Winn were quick to express their deepest gratitude for what Lena had done, Kara hung back murmuring her thanks quietly to avoid bringing attention to the deep blush spreading her across her cheeks when green eyes rested upon her.

Lena bid them farewell and wished them the best for the rest of their stay whilst Captain Dunn rounded them up and began to lead them back to the car. Kara’s heart sank upon realising she had missed her opportunity to talk to Lena one on one again.

She wanted to ask if they could see eachother again.

If she could see Lena again.

Would Lena be in the kitchen or was this merely an apology?

Did Lena merely want to make amends with no further interest in being friends?

Was this is it?

Kara had been granted insight into the real Lena and found her to be more beautiful, earnest, kind and witty than the chef who had no name. And now… was this is it?

No more?

Never ag-

“Kara.” Lena whispered, placing her hand on Kara’s forearm in a light request for her to pause. James and Winn carried on walking oblivious to the blonde’s pause and Kara would be damned if she didn’t take this opportunity to arrange to see Lena again.

“I have a massive craving for a tortellini so good it would make a grown man cry.” Kara murmured, her blue eyes pleading for Lena to accept, “Do you know somewhere I can get such a meal… at say, I don’t know… ten-thirty tonight?”

Lena’s face lit up and she nodded once decisively, “I know just the place.”