1.5

Arrival 1.5​

I rose with the sun, like clockwork, and swung my legs off the side of the bed onto the carpeted floor. My nose wrinkled when I didn't feel my slippers waiting for me, before I remembered my predicament. Trapped in an alternate universe, currently staying with friendly locals. Right.

After I had dropped Lung and Oni-Lee off last night, I basically dismantled the ABB with what information I had. Drug dens, illegal brothels, and arms caches - even a sale. Over the span of a single night, I had basically gutted the gang, and the thought made me smile. With them out of the way, I could focus on the Empire Eighty Eight or the Merchants. Then I could really focus on helping this city, though I wasn't entirely sure how to yet.

Certainly not from in the Dallon's guest room, that was for certain. I grabbed a robe I had borrowed from Victoria and shuffled my way out into the living room. My mental checklist expanded to add fuzzy slippers to my list of things to acquire; a good morning wasn't complete without them.

Unsurprisingly, I was the first one up. Very few people got up as early as Kal and I did, which I was certain was a biological impulse because there was no way in Rao's name I would be up this early back on Krypton. Sleep was good, but on Earth I needed very little of it. Though that said, I did appreciate the calm silence that came from an early morning, it was a rare thing.

I wasn't sure when the rest of the Dallons would be up, but since I had time I figured I would thank them for their hospitality. About thirty minutes later, Victoria came stumbling downstairs, attracted by the scent of bacon frying and the soft sound of the television running. Her hair was a rats nest and her eyes slits that somehow narrowed further when she saw me cooking.

"Karen? You know it's like… five thirty, right?" she yawned and stretched.

I smiled cheerily at her, "I'm an early riser." I chirped, and flipped the bacon up over my head where it landed perfectly on the platter behind me.

"I hope your folks don't mind; I thought I'd cook you all a nice breakfast as thanks for taking me in yesterday." I explained as Victoria's eyes widened at the buffet arrayed before her.

She raised a finger to her lips and said, "Shhh, no more words. Food now please."

Unsurprisingly, Victoria piled her plate with a mountain of pancakes and bacon that ominously leaned to the side when she shuffled over to the dining room table. As she set it down, her sister waddled downstairs and grabbed the coffee and food without so much as a comment. Their parents filtered downstairs soon after them with as much enthusiasm as their children. Evidently, I was a morning person in a sea of morning haters.

"We should take in strays more often." joked Mark, "If they're going to make us a full breakfast, totally worth it."

Carol made a noise of agreement as she sipped on her coffee, and I smiled at their enjoyment. I had come a long way from setting kitchens on fire. I still found Earth kitchens needlessly confusing, but I at least knew my way around them now. As I grabbed my own plate, the commercial break on the television ended and the news resumed.

I had been surprised to see that Kate's interview with me had been the first story of the morning. Perhaps they wanted first digs at it, and planned on airing it again later today, otherwise I couldn't figure out why they would air it so early. I leaned on the counter and chewed thoughtfully on my pancake while the network logo flashed away to reveal the host of the show.

"This is Donny Vermillion, live from our studio in Brockton Bay." The newscaster spoke with a booming voice, and was clearly in the prime of his middle ages. He had thick meticulously maintained brown hair and equally prime moustache. He wore a dark brown suit and a BBNN pin on the left side. The quintessential newscaster in every possible way.

When Victoria saw him on screen, she groaned, "Oh god, I hate this guy."

Amy picked up the remote and wiggled it, "Then change it."

"No, no." Vicky stuck her hand up and said solemnly, "Let me hate him."

That… wasn't a good sign. I bit my lip and watched as the news unfolded, trying to ignore the anxiety building inside me.

Donny continued, "Our top story for you folks this morning; the end of the Azian Bad Boys, and the girl that took them down. A rather… Super, girl."

My picture flashed on screen and Mark choked on his coffee. Carol pounded frantically on his back while Amy and Victoria turned to me wide eyed.

"You did what!? When!? How!? Why wasn't I invited!?" Victoria demanded.

I smiled sheepishly, "While you were all busy last night, I decided to do some late night patrols. One thing led to another, and I wound up beating Lung unconscious after interrupting his meeting with the Yakuza."

"So you ambushed him before he could ramp up." Amy said plainly.

"Basically." I confirmed, "I wasn't going to give him a chance to power up and wreck half the city in the process. All I did was let him beef up just enough so I could hit him without causing permanent damage."

"What about Oni-Lee?" Carol asked, rubbing her husband while he leaned on the table taking deep breaths.

"I had a little scuffle with him. Once I figured out how his teleportation worked though, the fight was over. I was lucky they didn't know I was coming, so we managed to avoid any real collateral damage."

On the television, Donny had finished summarizing what I'd told the Dallons, and said, "Now to our eager viewers, this no doubt startling turn of events has certainly left you with questions. Questions such as 'where did the Supergirl come from', 'what are her goals' and most importantly 'what are the consequences of her actions?'. Well rest assured, we here at BBNN are here to answer all these and more. And to help us with that is our old friend, Thomas Calvert, associate of the local PRT."

The camera zoomed out as Donny turned to face a lean dark skinned man with close cropped hair and hollowed dark eyes. They reminded me of the eyes of veterans Kal and I had saved during our foray into an alternate timeline still consumed by WWII. Tired from bearing witness to all the worst horrors humanity had to offer, they were the eyes of a man that had been broken at one point. I felt a ping of sympathy and respect for this Thomas Calvert. Whatever he had been through had taken a toll on him, and yet he still had the strength to keep working. Very respectable.

The reactions of everyone at the table painted a very different tune. Carol rolled her eyes, Mark scoffed, Amy covered her face, and Victoria started booing at the TV. I looked at them with a brow raised.

"Calvert's a total tool." Victoria explained, "Likes to play 'devil's advocate' all the time. Dude is supposed to be on our side but spends more time trash talking us than he does helping us."

Amy pointed at the TV and said, "Just watch. He'll turn this around on you somehow."

My attention returned to the TV as Donny and Thomas shook hands, the latter settling into his chair and folding his hands in his laps. "Thanks for having me again, Donny. It's always a pleasure to join you here at the BBNN."

Donny smiled a perfect newscaster grin,"The pleasure is all ours, Mr. Calvert. Now, if you're willing, our audience at home would love to hear your expert opinion on this new cape, and what her actions entail for our fair city."

"Gladly, Donny." Thomas returned the smile, "Let me start by saying that a man like Lung deserves his place in prison. He's been a menace to Brockton Bay for years now. We can safely applaud Supergirl for her actions in that regard. However, I wouldn't let my guard down yet either. Lung played a critical role in the power dynamic of Brockton Bay's gangs. We've seen this before with Marquis; the new up and coming heroes took down a prominent gang, only for the resulting power vacuum to cause widespread chaos until it was filled by a man worse than his predecessor."

Carol and Mark's expressions went utterly frigid, while Amy became very interested in her food. Victoria scowled at the TV, "Fuck you, Calvert!"

"Language!" Carol and I scolded at the same time. Victoria blinked and sank awkwardly into her seat and folded her arms muttering grumpily.

I debated asking Amy for the remote while Calvert continued. "Additionally, we can see from the interview provided to us by your lovely Kate Lockwell that Supergirl is… well to be frank, an emotionally impulsive newcomer. She certainly means well, but has no self control and a surprising amount of luck. Lung never saw her coming, and everyone knows if you catch him unprepared he goes down as easily as any man would against a cape. Supergirl is a game changer only in the sense that her actions have shifted the power politics in the city."

Donny nodded his agreement with Thomas, "A fair take, Thomas. Though some would argue that there are few capes out there as dangerous as Lung was to the safety of Brockton Bay."

Thomas made a show of taking a deep breath, "In raw potential power, Lung was a considerable threat. But there are plenty of capes that have caused far more damage than Lung ever has. People should be well aware by now that a power doesn't have to be big or flashy to be dangerous, and that's what they should be wary of. Not someone as powerful as Lung filling his void, but someone more insidious. Supergirl might have been able to brute force her way through Lung, but how will we all feel if the next cape to step up is able to master her? Then we won't feel so safe, will we?"

He paused and added, "And speaking honestly, Donny, as an African-american man, I don't exactly feel comfortable when the Empire 88's 'Aryan Ideal' descends from the heavens and proclaims herself the savior of the city. It makes you think, why only go after the ABB and not-"

Thomas's idiotic rambling was interrupted by Amy changing the channel to the morning sports report. I felt a tension leave my chest as she set the remote down and said softly, "I think that's enough of that."

She and the rest of the Dallons turned to me with a mix of curiosity and concern. I unclenched my jaw, forced a smile and picked my dish off the kitchen island and took it to the sink. They clattered with a bit more force than was necessary, but I managed to restrain myself from breaking anything.

After they were away, I put my hands on the kitchen sink and took in a deep breath. My eyes rolled back and I let it out, feeling the edge of my anger dull. It was only then that I felt confident speaking.

"Well then… They certainly hold interesting opinions, don't they?"

"Oh thank god." I heard Amy whisper to herself, followed by the thump of her head on the table.

This was not the first time a local newspaper had smeared my name, it was impossible to make everyone happy after all. That didn't make what they said hurt any less, and I felt more than a little angry at how presumptuous this 'Calvert' was. More importantly, I was angry at Miss Lockwell for lying to my face.

"You're taking this… well." Victoria said.

I turned back around to face them, drawing my smile into a thin line as I did. "Well, getting angry won't exactly fix anything, will it? Though I have to wonder how flexible Mister Calvert is, because he certainly seems to enjoy shoving his head up his own butt."

Victoria and Mark snorted, and even Carol managed a ghost of a smile. Amy was the only one not laughing, though she did lift her head up from the table.

"You really took down Lung?" she asked, as if she still didn't believe it.

"Yep," I leaned on the island and smiled, giving the Dallons a summarized version of my activities from the previous night. Truthfully I felt more than a little embarrassed going over what I had done. It wasn't bragging, but it certainly felt like it was and the grin on Victoria's face made me blush in embarrassment.

I never got to hear their thoughts on my activities though, as our conversation was interrupted by the shrill ring of the phone going off. Carol rose gracefully from her seat and went to answer it, her voice fully professional as she said, "Dallon residence, this is Carol speaking."

She paused for a moment as the caller talked, though I respectfully tuned my hearing out so I wasn't eavesdropping. Carol nodded once and her eyes flicked to me. "I understand, yes. She's right here, hold on."

Without another word, Carol handed me the phone and said quietly, "It's for you."

I took the phone and raised it to my ear, "Hello?"

"Hello, Supergirl?" a man asked.

"Speaking."

"I am Deputy Director Renick, I work with the Parahuman Response Team and the Protectorate." explained the man.

Ah, there it was. It was no surprise at all that the local Super team was contacting me. Frankly, I was surprised that Armsmaster hadn't tried keeping me at the PRT headquarters last night. We had all been busy, I supposed, and better late than never.

I folded an arm under my elbow and leaned against the kitchen island, phone in hand (they had wireless phones, that was such an improvement!) and asked, "What can I do for you, Deputy Director?"

"In light of your… accomplishments," the tone in his voice suggested that he still couldn't quite believe it, "We would like an opportunity to talk with you face to face. Today if at all possible. Let me preface this by saying that we are only interested in talking. As an independent hero, we would like to make sure that lines and boundaries are clear so there is no risk for… incidents, in the future."

I shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Does noon work? I already have a morning obligation, but I should be able to stop by afterwards."

The sound of typing was clear on the other end of the line before the Deputy Director spoke again, "Excellent. Noon is perfect. Fly to the top of the PRT Headquarters downtown, we will talk to you there."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Oh, and Supergirl. We advise that you refrain from any more heroics until after our conversation. There were a few sting operations you interfered with last night, and we'd rather avoid a repeat without proper lines of communication. I'm sure you understand."

My smile faltered a bit, but I said, "Of course, I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

"No, we will see you then. Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome, sir." I said and the line went dead. His request sat poorly with me. I tried balancing a normal life with my heroics back home all the time, but it was one thing to do so of my own accord and another entirely to have someone try to actively forbid me from helping others. Of course, I understood why they had asked it of me; I just didn't agree with it. If I saw someone in trouble and there was no one else to help them, I was more than willing to step up to the plate, regardless of the consequences.

Victoria derailed my train of thought with a cheerful, "So, who was it? A secret admirer maybe?" she had stood up from her seat and was leaning on the table, a wide grin on her face. Her sister had her face covered out of second hand embarrassment.

"If only I could be so lucky." I rolled my eyes and hung up the phone. "Just the PRT. They wanna talk later today."

"Oh, boring!" Victoria echoed my sentiments exactly.

"Ah well, that just puts a time limit on our mall trip." I said, then bit my lip, "We are still good for that, right?"

"Oh hell yeah!" she cheered, ignoring another scolding from her mother.

The girl turned to her sister, and asked, "You're coming too, right Ames?"

Amy froze mid drink and looked between her sister and me. "I mean… yeah. I guess." She didn't sound anywhere near as excited as Victoria.

"Awesome!" Victoria whooped, "Hope none of you mind, by the way, I may have invited my boyfriend to join us."

"He cute?" I asked.

"The cutest."

"I don't mind at all then." I said and grinned.

Victoria laughed, "Oh this is going to be awesome!"

At the very least, I thought, it would get my mind off of the news.

-S-​

The staff of the BBNN wisely parted before the seething aura of one Kate Lockwell. Though normally she was a beacon of relative peace in the chaos that was the network studio, today she was as far from that was was possible. She marched forward with wrath and purpose, a curse on her lips, and fury in her steps.

The doors to the studio newsroom practically flew open of their own accord. Kate marched in as Donny and Thomas Calvert were shaking hands and they cut to commercial. Her professionalism was the only thing that had stopped Kate from interrupting, but now the only thing protecting them from her wrath was the flimsy faux wood desk they sat behind.

"What. The. Fucking. Hell!?" she yelled.

Studio hands and cameramen rapidly fled the scene, holding no desire to get involved in the chaos about to unfold. Thomas leaned back in his chair, hands folded; Donny rolled around on his chair, a look of quiet surprise on his face. Whether he was surprised by Kate's anger or the intensity of it, was something she was very interested in putting to the test.

"Kate! You're looking well this morning-" Donny started.

She cut him off by slamming her hands on the desktop, "Cut the shit, Donny. I was promised prime time coverage of my interview. That is what Gargan sent me to the PRT for; no tricks, just an honest to god story on prime time for once. So what the fuck do you think you're doing, hijacking it for another opinion piece with your lapdog?!"

"Nice to see you too, Kate." Thomas snorted.

Kate flipped him the bird without even looking, focusing her anger on the news anchor before her. Donny leaned back far in his chair, clearly caught off guard by the ferocity of Kate's anger. To his credit, he managed to regain a semblance of control over himself, smoothing out his tie and coat and clearing his throat before addressing her.

"You were promised a prime time slot for a story on the PRT, Kate. What you brought instead, was a story on a brand new cape-"

"Who took down fucking Lung on her first day in the city!" she interrupted.

Donny rolled his eyes, "Please, any two-bit gangbanger with some luck and a baseball bat could do that. Everyone knows he'll be out of the PRT's hands by the end of the week. Gargan wanted a story on the PRT. You gave him a feel good piece about a high schooler in a dress that lives in her own little world. What did you expect to happen?"

Kate narrowed her eyes, "You know damn well that every other studio would trip over themselves to get an interview with an Alexandria Package. Especially one that managed to take down a heavy hitter like Lung. Don't play dumb Donny, it's beneath you."

The man drew his lips tight, "Don't get angry with me Kate. You know Gargan has final say on what airs."

"But he respects you." she jabbed a finger at him, "A good argument from you and Gargan is putty in your fingers."

Kate took in a deep breath, and found it did nothing to calm herself. It was too early in the morning for this crap, and yet here she was. These conversations were all too common nowadays with Donny. She hated to admit it, but it hurt that these were the only conversations they had anymore.

"You used to be the best of us, Donny." Kate sighed. "Every story, every whiff of corruption; if it was there, Donny Vermillion would find it."

She pushed herself off the desk and glared at him, "Now you're just a talking head. Nothing but hot air."

"Kate…" he started.

But she waved him off, "Forget it. I'm done. I've still got some good years left; I'm not wasting them slaving myself to this trash heap."

His eyes widened at that and he sat up straight, "You can't be serious, Kate."

She was already heading back for the studio doors, "I'll have my office cleared by the afternoon."

Perhaps it was pity, or maybe nostalgia, but Kate stopped at the door and sighed. She spared a look over her shoulder at the man. Once her inspiration and mentor; now she could see the lines in his face, the bags under his eyes. He was old, and whatever fire had drove him forward had died out ages ago. Now there were only sparks left.

"If it means anything… good luck. You're gonna need it." she said, and continued down the hell.

She had a lot to do now: resumes to write, cash to withdraw, favors to call. And most importantly, she had an apology to make. Donny had called Supergirl a fool living in her own little world, but Kate had seen more than that. Supergirl might live in her own little world, but she wanted to share it with everyone else.

"Off the record, Supergirl, I'm curious. Why are you a superhero? What do you stand for?" she had asked.

The answer had come with a startling speed. No hesitation, Supergirl had met her eyes and said, "Hope, help, and compassion for all. There's a lot of injustice in the world. I just want to do my part to even the scale."

That was a message worth spreading. If there was one thing that this city needed more than anything else, it was hope. That was a story the world needed to hear, and if no one else was willing to share it, then Kate would. After all, someone had to help even the scale.

A/N: This chapter was going to be longer with Kara and co's trip to the mall tying it up, but the ending on Kates side felt like a good place to bring it to an end. Quality over quantity and all that. This was an odd duck chapter to write, but I am very happy with it, personally. But I am interested in your comments, so please leave them and any constructive criticisms down below.

Now with that said, I have some planned PHO shenanigans coming soon, but as I am terrible at coming up with good comments for them that don't pertain to story, I am using my usual tactic of creating an IC RP thread for anyone interested in that sort of thing. Link will be attached below.

I hope you'll pop in and see what you can come up with, as I do appreciate the assistance. Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and I'll see you next time!

Link: PHO RP Thread