Alex stood in front of Kara's door, jingling her keys in front of her, trying to locate the right one. It was Danvers sister night but, she wasn't sure if Kara was working late. Between CatCo and the DEO, Kara's hours were difficult to keep track of. It's no wonder why Kara doesn't have a social life, she thought. Alex finally found the right key and reached out to put it into the lock.
"Alex, come in. It's not locked." Alex heard Kara's muffled voice from the other side of the door.
Alex let out an exasperated sigh and pushed open the door. "Kara, what I have I told you about keeping your door locked?" She scolded as she walked into the apartment. "There are all kinds of crazies out there." She looked to Kara who was sitting on the couch, knees brought up towards her chest, shoulders slouched and jamming a spoon into a carton of ice cream perched on her lap.
"Uh, Alex." Kara glanced over to Alex. "Supergirl here…remember?" She pulled up the spoon and shoved it into her mouth. "Not that anyone cares," she grumbled.
Uh oh. What's going on now? Alex put her purse on the kitchen table and grabbed a spoon out of the drawer before making her way to the couch beside Kara. "Well, even Supergirl needs to keep her door locked. You don't want just anyone walking in here anytime they want to, Kara."
Alex sat down on the couch, folding her legs underneath her and reached for the carton of ice cream. "So, what's going on?" She asked, diving her spoon into the carton when Kara relinquished it.
"Nothing." Kara mournfully replied and grabbed the carton back.
Alex's raised her eyes. "Nothing?" she mumbled through a mouth full of ice cream before finally swallowing. "Kara, you're sitting here eating ice cream when we're supposed to be ordering dinner, you look like you just lost a puppy," she looked at the coffee table in front of her which was scattered with newspapers. "…and there are enough newspapers strewn around to start your own job service." A sudden thought came to her and her eyes narrowed. "Did Cat fire you?"
"What?" Kara looked sharply at Alex. "No," she shook her head, "Ms. Grant didn't fire me."
"Well then, what is it?" Alex reached for the carton again. Getting Kara to talk about her problems was oftentimes more frustrating than writing reports after a DEO alien arrest. For this kind of challenge, she needed comfort food.
"You're going to think it's dumb." Kara replied, staring out in front of her.
"Try me." Alex coaxed.
Kara took in a deep breath and let it out. She bent over and rummaged through the papers on the table. She found one, scoured through the pages before finally finding the desired section. She opened it up, laid it back down on the table and fell back into the cushions of the couch.
"Look," Kara nodded to the paper.
Alex inched her way to the edge of the couch, ice cream carton still in hand, and looked over the sprawled out paper in front of her. On one page, there was a listing of baseball scores and sports articles. The other page was composed of the daily comics. Alex's brows furrowed together, spreading wrinkles across her forehead. Wow, this one was going to be a tough, she thought. Kara didn't watch sports and she didn't read comics so, Alex wasn't sure what to think.
"Um, what am I looking at here, exactly?" Alex inquired.
"Over there, on the right." Kara pointed toward the comic section. "Underneath Calvin and Hobbs."
Alex looked back at the paper and found the comic that Kara indicated. She read through the panel and she couldn't help but smile. This is what Kara is upset about? She pressed her lips together, trying to suppress the smile and took a moment to compose herself before addressing Kara. She looked over her shoulder at Kara, sitting scrunched into a ball, knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around and chin resting on her knees, watching Alex intently.
"It's a Superman comic?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows.
Kara lifted her chin off her knees. "Yeah, but that's not all. Look under the Garfield one."
Alex turned back to the paper and found the comic in question. Her mind ticked and it all started to make sense.
"The Flash," she noted.
"Yeah, the Flash." Kara grumbled and leaned forward. "Both Superman and the Flash have their own comics in the newspaper," she remarked, her voice rising in agitation. She dropped her feet to the floor and sifted through the papers. "I've gone through all of these and there isn't one Supergirl comic." Her eyes lit on one and she held it up. "Even the CatCo newspaper has the Superman and Flash comic but, none of Supergirl." She threw the paper back on the table and fell back to the couch, crossing her arms and hanging her head. "Barry was here one day and he gets a comic. I've been here every day for the last year, helping people and I can't even get a comic in one paper."
"How did you find this? Alex asked.
"Winn reads them. He showed it to me." Kara replied.
"Ah, of course." Alex nodded her head. "But Kara, why do you care, you don't read them?"
"No, but other people do." Kara pointed out.
"Kara." Alex placed the ice cream carton on the table and turned on the couch to face Kara, placing a hand on her knee. "Getting your picture in the paper and having a comic created after you, that's not what you're about. It's not why you help people."
Kara, head still tilted down, lifted her eyes and stared into the empty space in front of her. "No, but it's kind of nice."
She pulled herself out of the couch cushions and faced Alex. "And it's about more than a comic, Alex. It's that no matter what I do, it seems like it's never enough. People will never see me like they do Kal-El or Barry." She reached over and grabbed the ice cream off the table before leaning back. "To them, I'm just some strange girl from another planet that helps out whenever Superman can't be there." She gave a resigned sigh and stuffed a spoon full of ice cream into her mouth.
Alex knew that this was important to Kara, that there was a standard that Kara felt she had to obtain. It started when her mother sent her from Krypton telling her to protect her cousin. But, when she was denied the opportunity to do that it led to a constant need for Kara to find some other way to honor her mother's request.
She slid back on the couch, turning so she was facing directly across from Kara. "Kara. Every day you're out there helping others and people see what you do. Every time you swoop in and save someone and it's broadcast on t.v., millions of little girls see that...and they admire you. They want to be you...to help others the way you help them."
Alex placed a finger on Kara's bicep and lightly pushed in. "You're their role model." She shook her head. "Not Superman and not the Flash but, you. You're their hero. You give each one of them hope that anyone, even girls, can be strong and can be superheroes, too. And when you do that, you're protecting their dreams, their future." She looked over at the pile of papers on the table. "That's not something that some piece of paper that most use as liners for litter boxes can ever do."
Kara sat quietly for a minute before her face softened and a smile made its way across her face. She looked tenderly at Alex. "Thanks, Alex." She leaned into Alex's shoulder. Alex wrapped her arms around Kara and pulled her in tight for a hug. "I don't know what I would do without you," Kara acknowledged.
Alex put her chin on top of Kara's head. "You'd survive."
Kara shook her head. "No, I wouldn't...and I don't ever want to find out." After a few minutes, she pulled back and looked up to Alex. "Do people really use the paper to line their litter boxes?" Kara questioned.
Alex shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure some do. Nobody reads the paper anymore." She grinned. "Did you see the way they drew Clark? His chest all billowed out with that crazy long, chiseled, square chin on that huge head... and it's all sitting on top of those tiny, little chicken legs and twig-size neck."
Kara snorted and nodded "Yep." She sat up higher on the couch. "Did you see Barry? His body is so skinny with those same little legs plus, he has that big balloon shaped head." She pulled her hands far apart to emphasize her description. "He looked like Charlie Brown on stilts."
Both girls looked at each other and exploded into a fit of laughter that ended with them falling into the cushions on the back of the couch.
"Yeah, I'm starting to think that not having a comic in the newspaper might not be such a bad thing," Kara acknowledged.
Both were quiet for a couple of minutes, lost in their thoughts. Finally, Kara looked eagerly at Alex. "So, can we order our food?"
Alex laughed. Kara's appetite was never far from her mind. "Of course."
Kara pulled herself from the cushions and bounced up and down on the couch, her excitement unrestrained.
"What do we want tonight?" Alex asked. "Potstickers or pizza?" She pulled out her phone and waited for Kara's request.
Kara stopped bouncing and looked at her puzzled. "Why does it have to be either? Can't we have both?"
Alex grinned and shook her head. She found the contact for their favorite restaurants, placed the orders and sat back into the couch next to Kara as Kara flipped on the t.v. to find their movie for the night.