Update: This story has now been betaed by ifourmindbeso. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.


"Pretty cool, huh?" Kara asked as she walked by Winn.

"A plane-saving lady?" Winn scoffed. "How is the world supposed to take her seriously if she can't even come up with a suit? What… Metropolis gets him and what does National City get? Some rookie superhero?"

Kara laughed. "Maybe she wasn't expecting to save a plane last night. Ever think of that? Maybe she was out having drinks with a friend. Or maybe, maybe she just needs her best friend's mad cosplay skill to help her come up with a suit."

Winn looked over at her. "Seriously? That's what you're going with?"

Kara shrugged. "What? You think having super powers automatically makes you know how to sew stretch knits? Does every origin story come with a free serger? Is there a super hero manual that explains how to pick bomb-proof fabric?"

"You've given this a disturbing amount of thought," Winn said.

"Maggie got called in to work, so I went home early," she said.

"Sorry."

Kara shrugged. "It happens." She turned her back to Winn and took a second to heat vision Cat's Latte before announcing "She's here."


"I know many of you are used to being second best but it's new to me. The most incredible event in the history of National City and yet we have no exclusive of any kind."

"We don't have much to go on. The image we're working off is low res... I guess she's around 5'9". It's tough to Gauge with her height measured up against an airplane."

"Hair color brown. Or black."

"Or maybe her hair is just dirty. You know, from soot. The plane exhaust," James said, cutting off all the rambling.

"James, you make an excellent point. Do you think there's any connection between this hero and..." Cat asked.

"To my friend in blue? I don't know. I mean, not that he mentioned, but if she's anything like him, she's a hero. Saving people is what they're born to do. She'll be back."

Cat smiled. "Hmm. She better be. This girl is the answer. She is exactly what I need to save the Tribune. Besides fatty foods, there is nothing people love more than a hero. We are going to blow her up. We will feature her online and in the paper, but we need images, we need video, we need an interview, and exclusive content. So go. Go get me that girl. And, Keira... Go get me a lettuce wrap."

Kara nodded, a smile on her face. She'd forgotten just how good that little speech had made her feel the first time around. How much confidence it had given her, especially after the fight with Alex the previous night. She turned around and started to head out of the office, only to find James falling in beside her.

"It's funny," He said. "That was the first thing he did. Save a plane, I mean."

"Must run in the family," she replied as she walked over to Winn. James gave her a slightly puzzled look as he headed for his office.

"Winn, come with me."

"What? Why? Where?"

"The roof."

"The roof? What's on the roof?"


Winn looked around nervously as Kara led him up onto the helipad. Kara felt a little bad for him, because she knew he hated heights almost as much as Cat, but she also knew this was the only way to convince him.

"Hey, uh, just whatever you have to say, can you make it quick? I'm not really into being this high up," he said.

"Listen, Winn, I'm going to tell you something about me that only a handful of people in my life know. Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course."

"Good. I just really need someone to be excited for me. There's something about me that for most of my life, I've kept hidden. But last night, I embraced who I am and I don't want to stop."

"Um, Kara, I know you're gay."

Kara laughed. "Please, like that's a secret. Winn, what I'm trying to tell you is, I'm her. The woman who saved the plane."

Winn stared at her for a moment, then he started laughing. "Okay, that's a good one. You almost had me believing you were serious for a second there. This is because I made fun of her for not having a suit, it's it?"

Kara sighed and walked over to the edge of the building.

"Kara. Hey, Kara, what are you doing. No, stop. Kara, you're going to get hurt."

Kara just pitched back off the edge of the roof, arms out, letting herself fall for a couple of seconds before she flipped over and shot straight up, flipping over again and coming down in the center of the helipad.

"Ta da!" Kara said.

"You're her!" Winn shouted. "Holy shit, you can fly!"

Kara gave him her widest smile. "Yep. And now I need my best friend's mad cosplay skills to make me a suit, because Mom did not put a serger in my escape pod with me, and I do not know how to sew stretch knits."

Winn nodded. "Okay. Yeah, okay."

"The good news is I do have bomb proof fabric."

Winn stared at her for a moment as a smile slowly spread across his face. "This is gonna be so cool!"


The elevator opened and Kara stepped out, rushing as fast as she could and wishing she already had her Supergirl suit because it would have made getting Cat's lettuce wrap a thousand times easier. Of course, it would probably have been faster if she hadn't taken the little detour to reveal her secret to Winn, but that had been necessary. She was not doing this without her support structure, which in the first few days had consisted entirely of Winn.

Of course, that was before Kara had deliberately rigged the game. Which probably explained why Maggie Sawyer was standing next to her desk when she walked into the bullpen, talking to Cat Grant.

"Hello, Ms. Grant," Kara said as she approached them.

"Keira," Cat said, turning around with a somewhat predatory smile on her face. "You didn't tell me you were dating a member of NCPD's finest."

"Well, that's because we're not dating, though I do appreciate the vote of confidence in my game. Also because you've never shown any interest in my love life before." Kara held up the bag with Cat's lunch. "Your lettuce wrap."

She turned to Maggie. "What brings you to CatCo?"

Maggie held up a large paper bag. "You left your purse and jacket at the bar," she said.

"Oh," Kara said, trying to give her face just the right about of panic. "Thank you. I went back for them and they were gone…"

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I let your things get stolen, would I?"

Kara felt Cat watching the back and forth and knew the woman was picking up that there was a lot more going on, which was actually helpful in the long run, but inconvenient in the short term.

"Ms. Grant, would you mind if I took a few moments to talk to Detective Sawyer?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. After all, she was nice enough to return your things. Which you left in the bar, where you were not on a date," Cat said.

Kara blushed about five shades of red as she realized Cat thought she had caught her in a booty call.

"Thank you," was all she said. She gave a small nod to Maggie, then turned and lead her towards the nearest conference room.

"So," Kara said, as she closed the door behind them.

"That was you," Maggie said.

"Yeah."

"So, are you and Superman...?"

"He's my cousin. Younger cousin."

"Younger."

"Yeah. It's a long story, but the basics are, he came straight here, while my pod got knocked off course. I spent twenty-four years in suspended animation before my guidance system rebooted. The long version is a bit more complicated than that, but there are not enough tissues in the room for me to go through the entire thing."

Maggie shook her head. "You know, back when we met, you told me you had trouble finding someone with shared life experiences. I figured there was a bad break up, or maybe a girlfriend who died or something."

"Hey, I told you you'd have to come to Thanksgiving dinner to unlock my tragic backstory." Maggie laughed, and Kara found herself smiling a bit at that, but she kept going. "Look, Maggie, things are about to get really, really nasty. Superman and I, we weren't just nobodies on Krypton. We're both the heirs to dozens of dynastic titles, and because we're the last survivors of those houses, all of their enemies will be coming for us. What's more, my mother was the Kryptonian equivalent of a federal prosecutor and a federal court judge and when Krypton died, more than one of our prisons was broken open. Now that they know I'm alive, the criminals my mother sent to those prisons are going to be coming straight for me."

"The smart thing for you to do would be to go home and forget what you saw in that alley last night. Pretend it never happened."

Maggie looked at her for a moment, then shook her head. "Fuck that," she said. "You went out last night and exposed yourself to all of that to save lives."

"My sister's life, Maggie. My sister was on that plane. It was not an unselfish gesture."

"Yeah, but what about next time, and the time after that, and the time after that? I've seen the good your cousin has done over the years, the lives he saved. If you're anything like him, this city, hell, the whole world needs you. And if I can help, what kind of person would I be if I refused?"

Kara smiled, and held out her hand. "Welcome to the team," she said.


Of course J'onn was waiting for her when she got home.

"You can't be here," she hissed as she walked towards him. "What if Alex shows up?"

"She won't," he said. "I've got her putting together a tac team whose job it will be to bring you in for questioning."

"Yeah, I figured that was coming," she replied as she stepped by him and unlocked the door. "You couldn't just drive over with her and let her introduce you. By Rao's light, you are such a drama queen.

"We need to talk," he said as he followed her inside.

"No, actually we don't. I'm expecting company, so please, skedaddle."

"Skedaddle? What kind of word is that?"

"One I picked up from someone I probably shouldn't have been hanging around with in the first place, but there it is. Now, I'm serious. Winn and Maggie will be here any minute."

"Did you know about the bomb?"

"You seriously think I would have let my sister get on a plane if there was any danger she'd get hurt?" Kara asked, and she felt just a bit guilty, because she *had* done just that, but only because she already knew how it would turn out and had taken every precaution to make sure her sister was safe.

"No, but I can't help but feel like you knew this was coming."

"I knew something was coming. I heard Vartox had been at the airport about two minutes before I got word about the plane being in trouble."

"Vartox did this?

"Unless Aunt Astra sent two assassins to National City at the same time."

"Great. I've read his file. He's a nasty piece of work."

"Yes, he is. But he's also predictable. He likes carnage, but he's a planner, and he's obedient. He'll check in with his control before he moves again. We've got a couple of days. I doubt he'll move again before Monday."

"I take it you have a plan?"

"I do."

"Want to share?"

"Yeah, I'm going to kick his ass, then let him go."

"What?"

"I need to get a message to Astra. When Vartox comes after me, I'll give him the message, and then you move in a strike team to drive him off. We'll give him time to report the message back, then take him down for good."

"I hate that plan," J'onn said.

Kara shrugged. "Yeah, well… that's because it sucks, but it's the best plan I've got right now."

"That's encouraging," J'onn said.

"Well, if I can just get her the message, we might be able to end this without bloodshed."

"I don't see that happening."

"Honestly, neither do I. The Coluan is going to have to be put down. Probably my uncle Non as well. The others though, we might be able to negotiate a conditional surrender. Bring them into the fold. That many Kryptonians working for the DEO would be a hell of a response force come the day."

"It would be, if we can trust them."

"If I can bring Astra around, we'll be able to trust anyone she vouches for."

"I don't suppose you want to tell me where you're getting all your information."

"Doesn't matter. The well ran dry the moment a picture of me hit the news. I can make a few predictions based on how well I know the players, but one of the reasons I haven't fed you more names over the last year is the risk of poisoning the well, which is exactly what I did when I caught that plane."

"I knew you were holding out on me."

"Yeah, well, someday I hope you'll forgive me, but if we had pushed them into accelerating their time table, it wouldn't have been good. Alex wasn't ready, the DEO wasn't ready, and honestly, I'm not ready, but I should be if Vartox will hold off until Monday morning."

"And if he doesn't?"

Kara shrugged. "I fight him in my yummy sushi pajamas and a pair of bunny slippers."

"That's not funny."

"No, it's not, but right now, I'm not too far from that." Kara said. "One other thing. I'm going to need to you work up a security clearance on Jimmy Olsen."

"Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure my baby cousin is a blabber mouth, and spilled the beans about me. Olsen has been dropping hints. He's about as subtle as a coyote with an anvil, but he's been working with Kal for eleven years or so. If he already knows who I am it makes sense to read him in on it."

"Sometimes I hate when you're right."

"Well, I'm right about you needing to leave. Winn's just pulled up downstairs, and I need to help him carry in the sewing machines."

"Sewing machines?"

"If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform."

"Did you just quote Captain America to me?"


"She's not flying around the city, fighting aliens in that," Maggie said as she looked at the first design sketch Winn held up.

"Oh, come on, it's great," Winn said. He turned to look at Kara, and she just looked right back at him, completely ignoring the puppy dog eyes.

"She's not wrong," Kara said. "I wouldn't wear that to the beach." She took a drink of her orange juice, then asked, "And where's the cape?"

"Capes are lame. You can tell your cousin I said so. Actually, never, never do that."

"Lame or not, capes make you more maneuverable when you're flying," Kara said.

"Really?" Maggie asked.

Kara nodded. "The extra drag helps you corner tighter. Also, the fabrics we'll be using could insulate a fusion reactor, and serve as a micro-meteor barrier, so I'll be able to wrap them around someone to protect them from fire, explosions, stray bullets. You name it."

"Okay," Winn said. "So, we'll go with a cape."

Kara nodded. "And don't forget the El coat of arms," she said. "When I go out there, I want people to know who I am."

Winn nodded. "You know, now that I think about it…" He started flipping through his sketch book until he found something. He turned it around, and Kara smiled. It wasn't quite right, but it was clearly a working sketch of her first suit.

"We'd go with blue," Kara said.

"Of course, but we'd do the skirt in red," Winn said.

"Black sheer tights underneath," Kara said.

"You really wanna go save the day in a skirt?" Maggie asked.

"I like the skirt," Kara said. "I think it's cute."

"Okay," Maggie said.

Kara could tell she wasn't quite convinced, but that really didn't matter. She wanted the original suit, because anything else would remind her too much of the war, and what it was like after Cadmus. After things started going south.

"I don't like the boots though," Kara said, turning back to the sketch.

"Yeah," Maggie said. "You're going for superhero, and Doc Martens are about two decades out of fashion."

"Hold on," Winn said. He flipped over a couple of pages, and held up a sketch of a pair of knee boots. "How about these?"

Kara smiled. "Those are perfect. Can you put pockets in the boots for my phone and some other things?"

"Sure," Winn said. "I do have one question though."

"What's that?"

"If this fabric is so tough, how are my dinky little sewing machine and serger going to work it? Heck, how am I going to cut it?"

Kara smiles. "Oh, did I forget to mention that?"

"Mention what?" Winn asks with more than a little trepidation.

"Konex," Kara said.

"Yes, Lady Kara," a disembodied voice replied, causing Winn and Maggie both to jump, just a bit.

"End stealth mode," Kara said.

"Whoa!" Winn shouted as he jumped up from his seat and backed away from the gold and silver robot appeared out of thin air above the table where he was sitting. "That's… um… that's… Kara, what is that?"

Kara laughed. "This is Konex," she said. "Konex, scan and approve for level two command access. Winn Schott Jr. Formal address, Mr. Schott, familiar address, Winn. Konex, scan and approve for level two command access, Detective Sergeant Margaret Sawyer. Formal address, Detective Sawyer, familiar address, Maggie. Addendum. Detective Sergeant Margaret Sawyer is tier four law enforcement. Set ancillary privileges as appropriate under Earth, United States of America, State of California and National City laws. Addendum. Mr. Schott and Detective Sawyer are pledged allies of the House of El. Access Levels House General, Cadet Branch General, Cadet Branch Compartment Three. Approval Code, Kara, El Mayarah, Su-Von."

"Acknowledged. Greetings Mr. Schott, Detective Sawyer."

"Um… hi," Winn said.

"Hello," Maggie said.

"Konex and his brothers Kolex, and Kelex are tier four cyber constructs. Konex was my personal attendant when I was growing up."

Kara watched Winn's face, and could tell he was torn between being slightly frightened, and completely fascinated.

"You had a flying robot butler?"

"Butler, doctor, teacher, playmate."

"That is so cool," he said as he stepped forward, reaching out and stopping just short of touching Konex. "You've had him all this time?"

"No," Kara said. "The original body was destroyed along with the rest of Krypton. But Konex is technically software. His memories had been downloaded into a storage unit on my ship. I had Kelex, Superman's attendant, build a new body for Konex about a year ago. Konex built Kolex a couple of months ago so I could bring him back here while Kolex runs my secret lair."

What Kara didn't add, because it would have needed weeks of explanation, was that she hadn't even known about Konex or the sanctuary crystals stored in her pod until nearly a year after Myriad. She'd asked Kal about how he built the Fortress, and he'd told her about the set of crystals hidden in his pod. She'd gone and asked the hologram of her mother why she wasn't given a set, and the hologram had politely explained to her that she was, and they were still stored in her pod.

Having her own Fortress, which she'd dubbed Sanctuary, tucked in neatly a couple of hundred miles off the California coast had seriously upped her Superhero game. It had also given her, J'onn and Alex a place to operate out of after the situation with the DEO had gone south in the fallout from Cadmus.

"Wait, secret lair?" Winn asked. "You have a secret lair, and you didn't share?"

Maggie just shook her head.

"Well, it would have been a little hard to explain why I had a secret lair without mentioning the part where I'm an alien."

"Yeah, that's actually a good point. I'm not sure I forgive you though."

"Yeah, yeah. You say that now, but wait until Konex shows you the Kryptonian fabric extruder."


Kara stared out into National City from the roof of her apartment building, listening to the sounds, letting it all wash over her. She didn't open herself to much, because if she did, she'd hear the cries for help, the pain, and the struggles. Noises she hadn't been entirely able to ignore for the last year. She had dozens of rescues under her belt, starting with the eight campers who'd died in the California wild fires a year earlier in the original timeline. Her super-speed, and a few tricks she'd learned from Barry, Oliver, and Bruce over the years had kept her from drawing too much attention. She suspected NCPD and NCFD might be scratching their heads over some of the things she'd done. Muggers suddenly hanging from a street lamp by half a roll of duct tape. Fires that mysteriously went out before the fire department arrived. A mud slide that froze solid in the middle of summer, fifteen feet from the road, giving them time to finish an evacuation before it thawed enough to be a hazard.

She couldn't help it. She'd been Supergirl for so long, even a war across dozens of different universes couldn't take the desire to help away from her and now that she was almost there, almost to the point where she could help out in the open again, every moment she wasn't helping weighed on her.

"You okay?" Maggie asked from behind her.

Kara nodded. "Yeah. I suppose it might not seem that way, but I am."

"That's good," Maggie said. "You wouldn't do anyone any good out there if your head wasn't in the game."

"I know," Kara said. "Experience was a bitter teacher on that point."

"Sounds like there's a story there."

"Not one I want to remember," Kara said, and it really wasn't. Barry had tried to talk her out of fighting the day after Alex had been killed, but Kara hadn't listened, and the results had been ugly.

"I keep thinking you're too young, you can't possibly know from experience, but something tells me you do."

"I am a ruined vessel of sorrow and regret. But I am free."

"Something from Krypton?"

"No. Mass Effect 2. Winn made me play the whole trilogy."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"You'd like it, it's a series of video games about a Lesbian Space Cop, her partner, who's a dinosaur rooster thing, and her hot blue archeologist girlfriend."

"Sounds like something the little troll would be into."

"Nah, he plays the male version of the main character, and hooks up with the gay shuttle pilot in the third game."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Winn's bisexual. He's just… He's not perfect, there's a hell of a lot more baggage there than you'd think, but after I told him I was gay, he never once made so much as a suggestive comment."

"I think that outfit he tried to put you into counts."

Kara laughed. "Yeah, you should see some of the ones he's drawn my cousin in."

"Oh," Maggie said, right before she giggled. "Did he show them to you?" she asked, barely able to hide the mirth in her voice.

Kara frowned, not getting the joke. "Yes?"

"Oh, to be a fly on the wall when he makes the connection…"

Kara's jaw dropped, and after a second, they both exploded into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, God," Kara said, "I needed that."

"I don't doubt it," Maggie said. "You looked like you had the weight of the world on those unfairly muscular shoulders.

Kara raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've got a cape crush."

"No, no, no. I adore you Kara, but you are definitely not my type."

"Not into aliens?" Kara asked.

"Actually, Darla is a Roltikkon," Maggie said.

"Wait, you mean to tell me the girl you've been crying on my shoulder over on and off for four months is a telepathic alien?"

Maggie shrugged. "Yeah," she said. "That's how I found out she was cheating on me. When you can read someone's mind every time you kiss, sooner or later, stuff like that comes out."

"I'm sorry," Kara said.

Maggie shrugged. "I'm over it, thanks in large part to this really friendly Kryptonian who let me cry on her shoulder."

Kara smiled. "Glad I could help."

"I need you to promise me something, though," Maggie said.

"What is it?"

"What you're doing. It can't just be about humans. There are a lot of aliens here, and they don't have any recourse. No way to seek justice."

"I know," Kara said.

"Do you?" Maggie asked. "I don't mean to be harsh, Kara, but you pass for human every day."

Kara reached out and took Maggie's hand, giving it a squeeze. "I know, Maggie. Trust me."

"Okay," Maggie said.

Kara looked away, staring out into the city. "I didn't want to do this alone, Mags. Not like my cousin. It's easier for him. He was born on Krypton, but he doesn't remember. He didn't watch it die. I have issues. Anger. Rage. I sometimes, I forget that I can't let those out. That I'm not normal. I need help, people who know me, who can remind me what it means to be a hero when all I want to do is tear someone apart. That symbol that Winn is sewing on my costume, it's the Ancient Kandorian Glyph for a word that literally means hope, but it also stands for my family's motto. El Mayarah. It means 'stronger together'. But the person I want with me the most isn't ready to accept this. Not yet. I thought… hoped you and Winn could be that for me, be the people I drew strength from, but it wasn't fair of me to ask you. You don't owe me anything. You can still walk away."

"No, I can't," Maggie said. "Kara, whatever else you are, you're family. You have been since the night I met you. I'm not sure why I felt that way about you so quickly, but I did, and I do. I'm here for you. But we're going to do this the right way. No back alley beat downs. No Star Chamber justice. We do this in the light of day."

"I can't promise that," Kara said. "The part about the light of day. There are reasons I've stayed hidden, and some of them are pretty scary. And there are times even police don't tell the public the entire story, to avoid causing a panic, or because it will lead to reprisals against innocent people. I'll promise you though, that if I hide something, it will be because there's a good reason."

"Those prisoners you mentioned?"

Kara sighed and gave the city one last look. "Come on downstairs. Winn deserves to know what he's getting himself into just as much as you do, and I don't want to tell this story twice."


"How do I look?" Kara asked as she stepped into the living room.

"Good," Winn said, smiling at her from his spot on the couch.

"He's right. I'm still reserving judgement on how practical the skirt is, but it definitely has style."

"The swagger helps," Winn said.

"Yeah," Maggie agreed. "The swagger definitely helps."

Kara turned around, looking at herself in the mirror. The suit was nearly identical to her original Supergirl outfit. The only real difference was the hidden pockets in the boots. The original suit only had one for her phone. This one had two phone pockets, one for money, and one which held an anti-kryptonite shield. She hadn't told J'onn about that last one, because if she had, she wasn't sure he'd have given her the kryptonite in the first place. She knew J'onn had come to trust her, but this J'onn was still the J'onn that she'd known her first few months at the DEO. The J'onn before he confronted the White Martian.

She stopped and took a deep breath. So many of the befores were going away soon and she could start rebuilding her family.

She turned around. "What have you got for me?"

"Car chase on the 112 Freeway," Maggie said. "You in?"

Kara smiled, remembering how this went the first time. "I got this," she said. "Konex, you ready?"

"Yes, Lady Kara," it said as it vanished into stealth mode.

"Wait, you're taking him with you?" Winn asked.

"How else do you expect a live camera feed," Kara said before she launched herself out of the window.


Her first time living through this day, Kara was still a weak flyer. She was running on instinct alone, and didn't have the advantage of a cape to aid with maneuvering. When she'd tried to catch the car, she'd flown into an embankment when it cut a corner far too sharp for her. This time, she had years of combat flying experience under her belt, and could turn on a dime at anything less than supersonic speeds. When the car skidded around the corner, Kara took the turn without a second thought, and put on just a bit of altitude. She used her X-Ray vision to aim, then used her heat vision to cut the battery cable on the car. A few seconds later, she landed next to the car as it rolled to a stop, jerked the door open, and pulled the driver out, dragging him to the rear, and bending him over the trunk. As the cops approached, she gave him a quick once over with her X-Ray vision, then turned to the closest of the cops.

"He's got a knife in his right boot," she said. "Don't forget."

The cop nodded as she stepped back, only letting go one the man had the suspect's arms secured. She tapped her fingers to her forehead, a quick acknowledgment, then kicked off, taking to the sky again as she took flight.

"Okay, what else have you got for me?" she asked.


Kara ducked through the window of her loft, smiling as she caught a whiff of fresh pizza. She'd circled the block twice while Winn was paying the delivery guy, but now that the coast was clear, she was eager to eat. Konex followed her in through the window and decloaked once he was safely inside.

"Hey!" Winn said. "A car chase, three ambulances carried to the hospital, a mugging, and a bank robbery. Not bad for your first day."

"Not bad at all," Kara said. She looked around, and frowned. "Where's Maggie?"

"She left right after the bank robbery," he said. "Said she got called in to work because apparently there's some alien flying around playing superhero."

Kara signed. She'd been looking forward to sharing their success with both Winn and Maggie, but she couldn't blame Maggie for having to work.

"Pizza?" She asked.

"Yeah," Winn said, pointing to the table. "Five extra larges."

Kara laughed. "Flying burns a lot of calories,"

"Man, I always wondered where you put it all before, but I'm guessing your appetite is just gonna get bigger, isn't it?"

Kara nodded as she picked up two of the pizza boxes. She didn't even bother with a plate. She just carried them over to her sofa and plopped down, flipping open the top box and digging in.

"So, are we done for the day?" Winn asked.

"You have plans?"

"No," he said. "But I was going to see if I could borrow Konex for a bit."

"What for?"

"I wanted his help with my Winter Soldier outfit," he said. "Most of it is really easy, but the metal arm is a pain."

"Tell you what," Kara said. "If you can show Konex how to tie into 911 dispatch, along with police, fire and ambulance dispatch, as well as the emergency broadcast network so he can run superhero central when you're not around, he'll help you with your costume."

"Awesome!" Winn said.

"No Kryptonian technology though," Kara said in her Supergirl voice. Winn's face fell slightly, but Kara ignored it. She knew she was going to have to introduce several Kryptonian technologies to the world at large, but she was going to do that in a very carefully controlled way, and she needed to make sure the patents stayed in friendly hands. That meant either Wayne Enterprises or Themyscira Enterprises. Letting Winn use any Kryptonian tech risked Maxwell Lord, Simon Tycho, or Lillian Luthor getting their hands on it.

The two of them ate in companionable silence for a while, and Kara used the time to rest for the confrontation she knew was coming.

"Four-alarm fire at Gates and Igle."

The sudden sound made Winn jump, but Kara had been expecting it. She swallowed her last bite of pizza, and stood up.

"Konex, stay here with Winn. Let him show you how to run the equipment, and incorporate as many functions as possible into your internal hardware. Winn, after this, we will be done for the night. Let Maggie know, then, go home and get some sleep."

"See you tomorrow?"

"I'll text you," Kara said as she jumped out of the window.