Chapter 1 – Sunday

"Beeeaaauuuutiful day for flying! Hey Alex, want to see a movie tonight? And eat sushi? You owe me dinner, you know!"

Agent Danvers crossed her arms. "You're in a good mood, Supergirl" she replied, tucking her dark hair behind her ear and adjusting her earpiece slightly. "And yes, I know I owe you dinner."

Twenty thousand feet up, Supergirl spread out her arms and lazily rolled her body through the air. Her cape billowed behind her as the sun caught the blonde highlights in her hair and a happy smile lit her face, glinting in her blue eyes. Spotting a plane, she sped up and, for a while flew alongside it, waving to the pilots and passengers who had their noses glued to the oval windows. "Awww…"

"What?" Alex asked as she studied the radar screen.

"People on a plane waving to me. And some kids. They're so cute. Oh… I think they're girl scouts actually." She flew closer and offered a big smile to the passengers taking pictures and then with a final wave, she changed course and headed back towards the DEO base. Minutes later, Kara dropped into the landing bay to find her sister waiting for her and gave her a bear hug, wrapping her up playfully inside her cape and kissing her cheek. "Whassup, Sista?"

Alex laughed. "Kara, what is going on with you today? Do I need to check you for alien DNA… oh wait…" She bumped her sister's shoulder playfully.

Supergirl grinned. "I'm just happy. We beat Non and his minions, saved the world from Myriad and Cat gave me a promotion. What's not to be happy about?!"

They headed for the mess hall where Kara poured them both a cup of coffee. "Yuck, cold," Alex grimaced as she took a sip of hers. Then she held out the cup. "Please?"

"Sure," Kara used her heat vision to warm up both cups. "So, we were discussing movies and sushi?"

"Romance?" Alex suggested.

"Action," Kara disagreed.

"Thriller?"

"Horror!"

Alex laughed again. "And this is why the Danvers sisters don't often go to the movies. Hey, what about that superhero one that just started?"

Kara perched her fists on her hips. "Dude. Really?"

From his position in the corridor, J'onn J'onzz smiled at the playful banter between the sisters. He had come to love these two women like they were his own daughters but he had a job to do.

"Supergirl?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"You're needed."

"What's up?"

"You should probably uh… see for yourself."

Kara joined the agents as they moved quickly to the command center and she leaned on the console as she examined the monitors. "Volcano. Wow. Not good."

"Yes, especially since it's only about fifty miles from the largest city in Montegrande."

"Why do people build cities next to these things?!" Kara exclaimed. "Ok, I've never stopped a volcano before. Suggestions?"

"Well first…" J'onn explained. "It's just starting to escalate but, when it erupts, it's going to produce a pyroclastic cloud that will reach and level the city within minutes. We have to give people as much warning as possible if they have to evacuate."

"I should go then. What's the plan? Can I just… like… put a plug in the crater… or something?"

"No more disaster movies for you." Alex replied with a teasing grin and a little shake of her head. "No, the pressure would just build until it dislodged the obstruction. You'd only buy them a few hours. I hate to say it, Kara, but you're going to have to get inside and cool it down enough to calm it."

"Will that even work?" Kara replied, skeptically. "Won't the temperature thaw it quicker than I can freeze it?"

"That's why you're going to have to close the breach first so that no new magma can rise to the surface. After that, you can try using your freeze breath to solidify the lava."

"Wait, so you're basically saying that you want me to fly…" Kara made the action with her hand, brow scrunched. "…into the volcano, find the breach, seal it up, stop the lava and then freeze breath the inside?" She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't sound difficult at ALL."

"And without contact with us. Your earpiece is not going to stand up to the heat," Agent Vasquez added sympathetically. "Plus you won't be able to speak once you're under the surface of the lava… and you're going to have to hold your breath the whole time you're figuring out what to do."

Supergirl crossed her arms and looked between J'Onn, Vasquez and her sister. "Can… can I stand up to the heat? How hot will it be?"

Alex looked down. "Normally about a thousand degrees but it can reach over two thousand depending on how well insulated it is. Kara, I THINK you'll be ok but…"

Supergirl held up her hand with a smile, stopping her sister. "You know what? I can't catch on fire so there's only one way to find out my heat tolerance, I guess. Fly inside volcano, find crack, put glue on it and freeze lava." And with that, she headed for the launch bay. "I'll call you when I get there."

Alex nodded. "I love you. Be careful."

"Well this looks like fun…" Kara sighed as she hovered over the crater of the volcano. "Not. Hell of a way to spend a Sunday lunch time. I should be sipping margaritas right now not contemplating a lava bath." She slowly skirted its rim looking for entry points she might be able to use as she tapped her earpiece. "Alex, what do I look for?"

"I'm not sure, Supergirl. What are you seeing?" Alex keyed up some satellite photos but the crater was mostly obscured by smoke.

"It's like a… choppy… fountainy… orange lake pretty far down inside the crater."

"Ok, ok, that's good," Alex replied, leaning on her palms on her console. "Less lava to have to deal with. Look for the shallowest point, Kara, and try getting down there. I think you'll know pretty quickly how much of the heat you can take. I don't know when we're going to lose contact so…"

"Don't say goodbye, Alex."

Agent Danvers' tone was gentle. "I wasn't. I was going to say hurry so I can stop chewing my nails off."

Kara chuckled. "Ok." She took a breath and squared her shoulders. "I'm heading down now." She descended straight into the crater to land near the edge of the lava lake. It was hot but not unbearable and she looked around through the steam as she hopped from rock to rock. "Can you still hear me, Alex?"

"Yes," came her sister's static filled reply. "So far so good."

"So," Supergirl sighed as she pushed her now damp hair out of her eyes. "I just had a thought. My suit is not going to stand up to this, so I have to get naked. I… um… assume there's no way to turn off those satellite images I know you're all pouring over?"

Alex shook her head, smiling and she exchanged looks with Agent Vasquez, who was also grinning. "Don't worry. The smoke is too thick to allow us to see into the crater."

Said smoke surprisingly irritated Kara's sinuses and made her sneeze unexpectedly, sending several boulders rolling away. "Excuse me. Whew. Ok, here we go. I'm leaving my earpiece with my clothes so I'll contact you when I get back ok?"

"Good. Ok. Good luck, Supergirl."

"Thanks." Kara disconnected, undressed and left her clothes and boots high up on a rock away from the slowly rising lava. Then she moved back to the edge of the lake. "Ok, here we go." She tentatively dipped her toe in. It was hot like getting into a bath but she didn't feel any pain. "So far so good." She shot into the air to get some momentum and then dove down into the lake, disappearing into the lava with barely a splash. Holding her breath and opening her eyes, she couldn't really see anything so she engaged her x-ray vision to see through the molten rock and scanned the area, following the flow back until she found the fissure. Then she used her heat vision to clear a path through which she could swim. My heat vision is hotter than lava. Cool.

It took some time and she was beginning to run out of breath when she reached the fissure and grabbed hold of one edge. She dragged one side and then the other side until the edges were back together. I need to get back to the surface. I'm almost out of air. Kara engaged her heat vision again and rose, gasping in a breath as she broke the surface. Then she glided over to the shore where she collapsed onto her back and just spent a moment catching her breath. She gazed up at the sky for a long moment just letting her body settle after its exertion, then, using her freeze breath, she hardened the lava still clinging to her into stone and shattered it.

Kara was tired and she just spent a moment stretched out on a flat rock with her eyes closed. "That sucked," she murmured before flying back up to her clothes and dressing. She put her earpiece back in and tapped it. "Guys, can you hear me?"

"Yes! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Supergirl looked down at her skin. It was pink but she didn't have any burns.

"I'm ok. Add lava resistant to the list. I managed to get the fissure closed but I'm not sure how good a job I did. It was pretty wide."

"Nice work either way, Supergirl," J'onn spoke up. "Worst case scenario, it at least gives the people of the city more time to evacuate."

"Right," Kara replied as she rose into the air again. "Time is good. I'm going to try to cool this thing down now."

Kara flew circles over the lava-lake, cooling it in layers until she'd finally added a crust thick enough for her to stand on. The smoke was even starting to dissipate a little.

"The satellite images are clearing up, Supergirl," Alex supplied. "It looks like the people of the capital are safe for now. Outstanding job." Then she chuckled. "Bet you're glad you're not naked now."

"No kidding," Kara replied. "So am I done here? Everything look ok? I'm starving."

"We'll continue to monitor the volcanic activity but for now, come on home, Supergirl," J'onn replied. "You've earned a good meal."

Back at the DEO, Alex ran to her sister and hugged her hard as she touched down. "I'm so glad you're ok and I'm really proud of you… but boy, you reek of sulfur."

Kara's nose wrinkled. "I know. It's bad when you can't stand your own smell." She patted her chest. "I'm going to take fifty showers. Do you guys have a laundry here? Oh and can I borrow some of your stuff?"

"Sure, I'll get someone to launder your suit and of course you can borrow some clothes. In my room there's a duffel bag on the bed. It has jeans, some shirts and some underwear in it. My bathroom has toiletries. Just take whatever you need. After you've cleaned up, we can go get dinner.

"Cool, thank." Kara rubbed Alex's arm and headed towards her on-base quarters.

"This is so nice," Kara raised her glass of sake and touched it to Alex's. "Just taking a moment out to be normal with my sister. Miss Grant is on vacation so no work calls. Winn has a new girlfriend so I don't have to feel guilty anymore…"

"Wait, guilty? Why?" the older Danvers asked.

"It's taken a while for him to get over my not being interested in him in… that… way." Kara leaned back in her chair and sighed, playing with her necklace. "Don't get me wrong… I love him… but not romantically." She paused thoughtfully. "I'm not even sure if I'm ready to be in a relationship, Alex. I have to take the time to figure out what it is to be me first before I choose a man… or woman… to spend my life with." Just then Kara's phone rang and she glanced at it. "And I have apparently jinxed myself. Miss Grant, is everything ok? Having dinner with my… um… friend, why?" She glanced at Alex and shook her head. "Oh no, is he ok? I see… gosh... that's awful. Yes, I'll put that in place for you as soon as possible. Ok, see you tomorrow evening." She hung up and looked down, blowing out a breath. "I hate having to lie to her, Alex."

The dark woman reached out and squeezed her sister's hand. "You know, I never imagined I'd say this, but I think you can trust her with your secret. She's going to figure it out sooner or later and it will hurt her that you've been lying to her."

The hero sighed. "I know. I just… I need the right time to tell her. I feel like we got pretty close during the myriad thing and I don't want to ruin that."

"What was all that other stuff about?" Alex went on. "I assumed that when you got promoted you wouldn't have to be at her beck and call all the time."

Kara shrugged. "I'm still finding her a new assistant. Her son had a skiing accident. He broke both of his legs. She needs his room set up with a special bed and stuff."

"Poor kid."

"Yeah, I hate it that happened to him."

"Isn't he a big fan of Supergirl's? Maybe you could arrange a surprise visit for him? I'm sure Supergirl wouldn't mind."

Kara pointed at her sister with her chopsticks. "That's a GREAT idea. I'm pretty sure that Supergirl would be delighted to do that."

Alex pointed back at her. "And don't think the man or woman comment went unnoticed."

Kara chuckled. "Yeah, I just… I've been thinking a lot about a woman who's… um… I'm attracted to her… a lot… and I'm..." She stopped. "You're not… freaked out or anything are you?"

"Me?" The older Danvers pointed at her own chest and laughed. "Not at all. I've done it myself."

"You've slept with a woman?"

Alex drank some more sake and nodded. "Sure, a few times. It's great."

"Hmmm…" Kara thought about that for a while.