Chapter 1
Rockin' the Suburbs

Kara pushed, as gently as she could manage, through the crush of bodies already sticky with sweat in the pervasive warmth of one of National City's latest summer heat waves on record. It didn't help that the club, usually sparsely populated at best, was full to bursting with hipsters and punks co-mingling, drinking, and pushing against one another in a rush of alcohol and hormones.

She could feel the late September humidity, already thick and brackish, causing the light fabric of her gauzy sleeveless blouse to cling indelicately to her now dewy chest. She may be an alien who thrived on sunlight, but this? This was offensive, all heat and tack with no brightness save the swiveling overhead stage lights, hazy purples and blues tracking across the audience and sliding over the equipment on stage.

This was so not her scene.

"Kara!" a voice called from over to her left, but she couldn't pinpoint its origin until a hand, arm, head popped above the crowd for a split second before disappearing again. "Over here!" it called and she caught a glimpse of Winn jumping above the heads of the teeming crowd again, a fish out of water.

She cut across the room as quickly as she could, apologetically upsetting one drink and stepping on a few toes, but more or less intact.

"Hey! You're here!" Her friend practically wheezed, "You look great!"

"I feel like I need a shower," Kara huffed, "and look like I've already taken one." She pulled the back of her hand across her forehead for show, shaking off the sweat already beaded along her hairline. "But," she corrected quickly, determined to stop her complaining, switching instead to 'supportive friend' mode, "I'm so excited to be here and to finally see you play!"

Winn beamed, his tousled brown hair and lopsided smile radiating boyish charm that even Kara couldn't resist. He practically vibrated with excitement, his usually pressed button down tied loosely around his waist and his plain black t-shirt already starting to stick to his chest in the oppressive heat.

"I'm so glad you could make it, it's not everyday we get to open for a secret show."

Kara glanced around, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "I think this secret show is not so secret, Winn. Who's playing anyway?"

"I don't even know. Someone said Dave Grohl was in town and was going to do a set, but I doubt it. All we know is we booked the opener, who cares about the rest?"

"That's the spirit!" Kara chucked him lightly on the shoulder and he immediately rubbed the spot gingerly, always the recipient of her super strength slugs. She offered a sheepish grin and pushed a stray strand of golden blonde hair back from her forehead, "Sorry."

Winn just laughed and motioned for her to follow him. Together, they picked their way through the crowd to a booth over at the side of the club where two women were sitting, deep in conversation. One was petite, all knit brows and dark hair with a round, open face, but the other was so striking, Kara almost sputtered and stalled out as she peered around her friend.

"Hey, any sign of Mike yet? We go on in ten and he's already missed sound check?" Winn asked the two women, causing them to pause their discussion to shake their heads, almost in unison. "Aaaaand, guys, this is my best friend, Kara. Kara, this is Jess and this is Len–"

"Lee." The striking woman swept to stand in one fluid motion, and caught the hand Kara hadn't even realized she'd offered.

Lee was slightly shorter than she, but her presence was such that she seemed to tower over everyone at the crowded club, including Kara. She wore an open red and black plaid button down, which seemed to be perpetually falling off one shoulder. Kara wondered if it was purposeful in it's planning as the exposed shoulder revealed the clean, sharp edges of a tattoo that twisted and disappeared under the black fabric of the woman's undershirt. Numerous piercings trailed up the curve of each ear and a black seamless ring was barely visible at her septum. Her raven hair caught the light, highlighting deep tones of wine and mahogany, and was shaved into a severe undercut on one side, revealing the scalp above and around her right ear, the remaining length gathered into a messy bun. Distressed black skinny jeans mended with safety pins and punk patches disappeared into a pair of oxblood red, calf-high Doc Marten's and for a moment Kara stood speechless.

It was clear this woman's look was carefully cultivated, crafted to project "punk" to any who cared to look, and many did. Kara's shock, however, came not from the wardrobe, but from Lee's face, as it seemed to contradict every stitch of distressed clothing with its overly effusive warmth. Her eyes were lined darkly, but delicately, with kohl while smoky shadow and long black lashes, framed ice green eyes shining brightly. Her lips, drenched in some sort of glassy plumb colored gloss, pulled back over perfectly straight teeth in a wide, welcoming smile.

Kara practically staggered back, but instead, managed to eek out a "Hi! Kara... is me. Hi."

"So Winn said. Hey. You know, he's been talking about you non-stop, wasn't sure you'd show. I guess our stuff isn't really your thing?"

Kara sputtered and laughed awkwardly, ignoring the raised eyebrow from Winn, the furtive glance from Jess, still seated at the booth, "Not my thing? Why – why would he say something like that? I mean, it could, it could be my thing. How can I know if I've never heard you play, right?"

"Riiight." Lee pulled the vowels from the word, treating Kara to an increasingly wry smile, "He just said you were less Sex Pistols and more N*Sync."

Kara cut her eyes over to Winn, who was choosing this moment to whistle conspicuously and inspect a loose thread pulling up from the vinyl covering the booth seat. She tried to formulate a cogent answer, but whether from the temperature of the packed club or some other completely unrelated, willfully ignored, stir of heat, she was left stumbling over her words.

"Well, I mean yes, but you know, I, um," she grappled, stupidly, for words.

"Hey, no judgment here, love what you love." Lee laughed and Kara felt a rush of warmth flood her cheeks; this club was unbearably hot. "And if we're being honest, I'm the last person who would begrudge anyone a little JT in their lives."

"Right. Exactly," Kara brightened, finally finding her footing in the conversation, "And who knows, maybe I'll love your set. After all, I'm always open to new experiences."

"I'll keep that in mind," the woman winked, one perfect, amused eyebrow arching upward. Kara's cheeks flamed again at the unintended innuendo and she slid gracelessly into the vacant side of the booth.

"Hey nerds, let's do this." All eyes shifted to a clean-cut young man clad in snug Levis and tight white t-shirt with a black leather jacket slung over his shoulder. He treated them all to a smoldering grey-eyed gaze and ended up looking less James Dean and more Danny Zuko, which Kara supposed wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She couldn't get an immediate read on him, but after taking in the sour faces of Winn and his band mates, her initial reaction was one of wary dislike.

"Where have you been man? You missed sound check," Winn grabbed the newcomer by the elbow and dragged him to the side, away from the dagger-filled stares of his fellow band mates. Kara made the intuitive leap that this was their missing drummer, Mike.

"I needed some new threads. This show is a big deal and I need to look my best, man." Mike pulled at the sleeve of Winn's black shirt. "See? Look at you, you get it."

"Looking good won't matter if we don't sound good. You can't keep doing this, Mike." Winn, a good three inches shorter than Mike, was pushing up on his toes and hissing out his disapproval as quietly as he could, but Kara, with her gift of super hearing, could make out every word. "If you keep this up, Jess is going to kill you, like, actually murder you. And honestly? At this point I wouldn't stand in her way."

"I hear you, man, I do." Mike clapped Winn on the shoulder in some show of camaraderie and abruptly changed the subject, "Hey, who's the cute blonde?"

Winn sputtered, incredulous, "That's Kara, she's my – nope. No. We are not doing this now." Winn grabbed Mike's chin and dragged his focus back to the conversation at hand. "One, she's so far out of your league you're not even playing the sport. And two, right now, you're going to get your ass on that stage and make sure your kit – that I loaded out for you – is set up and that you are ready to do this, or so help me, I will help those girls throw you back to space so fast."

"Okay, okay. I'm going." Mike turned, laughing, and paused for a brief moment to touch Winn on the shoulder once more, "Seriously though, thanks. I owe you."

"You already owe me so many!" Winn whined through clenched teeth, raising his fists as he turned to follow Mike toward the stage door.

"Can we do this already?" Jess rolled her eyes and Kara noted the flame red shadow around her eyes flare with the motion.

Unlike Lee, Jess had a opted for a more clean, severe look, decked out in form fitting black dress and knee high, stacked rave boots - black leather with silver studs accenting the toe. Kara pulled at the hem of her shirt, a bit self-consciously; against all of this black and leather, her cream and rose polka dotted blouse and bright mulberry, fitted slacks seemed loud and garish. She couldn't hold too tightly to the disjointed sensation, however, as the band had taken the stage and, stepping over cables and around amps, were settling in to play.

Kara watched Winn put a small monitor in his ear and step up to the keyboard, testing out a few chords to get a level, giving a thumbs-up to some unseen sound engineer. Jess turned on a amp and crossed to the opposite side of the stage, slinging the strap of an electric bass over her head and snapping a few cursory strings, the low rumble reverberating somewhere deep in Kara's chest. Mike had taken up residence behind the drums pressing pedals and cracking at the snare experimentally.

And then there was Lee.

The blonde couldn't help but stare as the dark-haired woman slipped into the electric guitar. It had a strange, sharp body, like an angular, blown-out hourglass, and sparkled brilliant blue. She watched Lee's lithe fingers flick a switch then float over the frets, a smooth run of notes floating from an amp near the lip of the stage. She watched the woman tap a pedal with her left foot and the sound, a moment ago so clear and crisp, distorted, suddenly heavy and layered with grit. Lee smiled at the sound and continued her run of notes, warming up as the audience began to buzz with excitement.

The blonde was so mesmerized she barely registered the hand on her shoulder, jumping suddenly at the sound of her name.

"Hey, whoa, it's cool, Kara, its just us." James Olsen, smiling, hands up in defense, stood back as Kara clutched at her chest, heart racing. "We saw you over here and fought, like, twenty unwashed guys in ripped jeans glued to their girlfriends – not to mention a bunch of bearded hipsters in ironic t-shirts – to reach you."

Kara couldn't help but laugh and crush James into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you came! Where's Lucy?"

"Ugh!" the blonde turned to see a short, brunette shove her way between two disaffected punks in studded vests, "I'm here, I'm here. Hey Kara."

Lucy took a moment to collect herself, keeping her drink level as she hugged Kara before sweeping back cropped hair with a disaffected wave. She steadied herself, balancing on heels taller than the blonde might have otherwise thought possible for a human to wear successfully. She was dressed in dark colors, black tank top with a short vest and oil washed denim and James followed suit in similar palette. It seemed that Kara was the only one who missed the memo regarding proper attire and color schemes for this sort of event.

"Thank Rao you're here. I thought I was going to have to hang here all by myself!" Kara's relief must have been evident and Lucy bumped her shoulder genially.

"Like Winn would ever let me hear the end of it if I had missed this." James laughed, his impossibly white teeth flashing.

James and Winn had been roommates for over a year now, and Kara was glad that they had each other. For James, Winn was more like a brother than a friend and she knew Winn felt the same. Though Winn had initially been a sort of placeholder for the friendships left behind when James relocated to National City, the two eventually developed a genuine bond. As much as they would be loath to admit, they needed one another. When James and Lucy started dating, she seemed to fit right in with the rest of them as if she'd always been a part of the family.

Kara opened her mouth to respond when the amps crackled and popped and Winn stepped up to the mic. She felt Lucy link arms with her, excited, and adjusted her glasses one last time before Winn shouted across the room.

"Hello National City!" he backed off the mic and called over his shoulder to Jess, "I've always wanted to say that." Back to the mic, "We are Broken Legacy, and we cannot even begin to tell you how cool it is to be here tonight. I've just been told that we have the great honor to open for none other than Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace, so stick around, cause her set is going to be amazing! Anyway, let's get this show on the road!"

Mike tapped a count with his drumsticks and the amps growled to life with a punctuated, staccato guitar riff. Winn leaned into the mic and started singing, somehow managing to balance his smooth voice against the harsh distortion of the guitar. Every so often Lee would jump up to her own mic, adding her voice to the mix, husky and warm, buzzing through the sound system. They were singing about failed romance and girls who play guitar and with the thrum of the bass and fuzz of distortion, Kara couldn't help but dance. Winn's fingers flew over the keyboard during a solo and the blonde whooped and hollered when he finished.

That song transitioned smoothly into another, and then another. They weren't punk, not at all; they sounded like those newer British rock bands Winn had forced her to listen to, but they were still loud and fast. All complicated guitar, organ solos, heavy bass, frenetic drumming. It was electric in a way Kara had never thought music could be and it lured her body into motion while her brain spun wildly, drinking in the sound and feelings. She tried to hold on to each moment, reveling unabashedly, sadder than she anticipated when the set flew by and the band finished their final song.

The last note rattled in the speakers and the club erupted, the disaffected youth moved to cheering and clapping. Kara beamed, her color high, her body overheating as all the dancing and cheering started catching up to her. That didn't stop her from clapping wildly, though, and screaming until she was hoarse.

"Thank you all, so much!" Winn called over the applause. "Once again, we are National City darlings, Broken Legacy! Find us wherever social media yells at you. Thanks guys."

Kara watched as they shed their equipment and exited stage left, Winn catching her eye and jerking his head at her to meet them backstage before he disappeared into the wings of the small stage.

Canned rock music flooded into the club and people started milling around, talking amongst themselves again. Kara, James, and Lucy pushed through the stage door and followed a narrow hallway as it hooked around, giving way to a series of doors. She followed the sound of Winn's excited chatter to a room at the far end of the hallway and found the band collapsed into a series of beat up, turn-of-the-century, crush velvet sofas, each of them leaning back, eyes closed, as the air conditioning rattled and gusted over them. Kara's usually docile friend was standing in the center of the room, practically raving, ecstatic over their performance.

"Did you see that?" he shouted, gesticulating wildly.

"I did!" Kara answered, matching his enthusiasm. "You were amazing! All of you. I don't think I've ever experienced anything quite like it!"

"'National City darlings?' Really, Winn?" Jess snarked, though she was smiling, obviously pleased.

"So I guess we are your thing, huh?" Lee perked up a bit, eyeing Kara curiously.

"Omigosh, yes!" the blonde responded. "I loved every second! It was so loud and so fast. It was like something alive. I don't know if I'll ever be able to find the right words to describe how it made me feel." Kara realized she was rambling and became suddenly self-conscious, shy, "It – it was amazing."

"Listen, Jess is going to stay and watch Laura Jane Grace's set, but the rest of us are going to head over to Saturn Café." Lee picked herself up and leaned, elbow on knees, toward Kara, still standing, tucked in, with James and Lucy. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about it, want to join?"

"Kara's always hungry." James answered before the blonde had the chance, "And I love Saturn's shakes. I'm in. Lucy?"

"I'm definitely in," Lucy chimed in, "I should probably get some food in me, stat. You know, soak up some of that whiskey."

"Cool. Well, we have to load out some of the equipment, but we can meet up there in about half an hour, sound good?" Lee pushed up from the sofa and stretched a bit, twisting from side to side then reaching up and back.

"Sounds great." Kara replied absently, momentarily distracted by the sliver of skin exposed by along the hem of Lee's t-shirt. She came back to herself at the sound of James clearing his throat, rather pointedly. "Uh, we'll meet you there."

"Perfect, see you in a bit then."

And with that, the three of them turned to go, each excited at the prospect of food and further conversation.