Hey guys!

I am so unbelievably sorry it's been a month since my last post. A month! All I can say is that real life got realer for a while there, it took everything I had out of me. I knew what was going to happen next (in the story), but my brain was too tired to bring it into focus. The kind of tired that doesn't go away when you sleep. Major life stress tends to sap the creative juices. Anyway, I'm back now and hopefully we will have no more major breaks between updates. Life is getting good again, so I have the time and the mental energy that I didn't before. Hope it was worth the wait!

…...

I'd Carry a Plane For You

Chapter 12: Land of the Free

…...

"It's up. It's up! Alex, my article's up!" Kara squealed, shaking her girlfriend's shoulder a little harder than necessary and jolting her awake rather abruptly.

"Heyyy," the dark-haired girl whined groggily, curling up in a ball under the blankets and rubbing her eyes. "Don't break the girlfriend."

"Shit, was that too hard. Sorry. I'm sorry," Kara sighed guiltily, immediately shoving her tablet aside and rolling towards Alex, her hand resting gently on the sleepy girl's shoulder. "Did I hurt you, Lexie?"

"Uh-uh," the dark-haired girl yawned and shook her head, snuggling up a little closer to Kara's warm body under the blankets and pressing her face against the blonde girl's throat. "M'okay. Just...don't wake me up like that."

"Okay. Sorry," Kara said again a little sheepishly, knowing that Alex didn't respond well to being woken up so abruptly (because it was usually associated with some kind of DEO disaster); but also a little disappointed that her girlfriend wanted sleep more than she wanted to hear the interview that was all Kara and Ms. Grant had been working on for the last 48 hours, the first step towards Kara fighting for truth and justice with something other than her fists.

But Kara barely had time to feel disappointed before Alex's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up in bed, bleary but very much awake. "Wait...your article's up?" Kara beamed. Alex laid back down and nuzzled up to her shoulder, one hand slipping up the blonde girl's pajama top and resting on her stomach. "Will you read it to me?"

"Okay," Kara smiled shyly, picking up her tablet from the bedside table and tapping on the headline article on the CatCo homepage. There were two photos. One action shot, the kind of picture that everyone expected to see of Supergirl in the media; and another of her in a plain white t-shirt and jeans in Ms. Grant's living room, lying on her stomach in front of the TV with Carter, playing video games and laughing. She was still Supergirl—she wasn't wearing her glasses—but it was a picture of Supergirl unlike any other the public had seen. Supergirl as a person.

"Aliens Are People Too: An Exclusive Interview with Supergirl by Cat Grant," Kara read slowly, her voice full of nervous excitement.

It will come as no surprise to the people of National City that I have cultivated something of a personal relationship with Supergirl, the article began. I published the first photo of Supergirl along with giving her the name that the entire country has come to know her by. I wrote the headlines; I chose the questions. The conversation about her in the news media has focused almost exclusively on national safety and sensationalistic action coverage. But now, dear readers, I endeavor to bring a new conversation to the media's view of the young woman we call Supergirl. This interview was conducted in my own home, with the understanding that it would be printed in pure transcript format. There will be no commentary. There will be no wild speculation. There will only be questions and answers. It's time we let Supergirl speak for herself—National City owes her at least that, and so much more.

Cat Grant: Supergirl, what question do you wish the media would ask you?

Supergirl: I wish they would ask...why I keep my true identity secret. I know it's something the news pundits seem to ask each other all the time, so they can have an hour-long debate about what I might be keeping hidden from the public and why I shouldn't be trusted...but nobody has ever asked me.

Cat Grant: All right then. Supergirl, why do you feel the need to keep your true identity hidden from the public?

Supergirl: Well...I was only thirteen years old when I arrived on this planet. A child. It was never my intention to keep anything secret from anyone...where I come from, people of different worlds crossed paths all the time. I visited nine different planets with my parents when I was young. So it never occurred to me that when I came to Earth, things would be any different.

But, my foster parents and my cousin—the man of steel, as you know him—all told me I had to keep who I really was hidden. They said I'd be in danger, the government would lock me up and do tests on me, I'd never be allowed to live a normal life as a normal kid. Respecting one's elders is hugely important on Krypton, so I did as I was told. At least, I tried to. Keeping your life secret like that...it hurts. No one wants to do that. But as I got older, I realized they were right...their fears were real.

There were a couple of times back then when I got clumsy and used my powers in public to save someone, and...it seemed like most people didn't see the good deeds, they just saw something different, something they didn't understand. It scared me. At the same time, at school, I was learning about the history of this planet; about slavery and genocide and war. You have to understand, there was no racism on Krypton—separating people by skin color was as bizarre to me as if you woke up tomorrow and found the world had been divided into groups according to eye color. I realized that people on this planet were suspicious of anything different from themselves. And I wasn't just a little bit different; I was a lot different. So I hid. I hid until I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm not hiding now, at least not completely. But I am living two very separate lives. I wish I didn't have to.

Cat Grant: And what would you say to those who express the view that the only reason to keep a secret identity is that you have something to hide? That the vast majority of alien lifeforms that have landed on this planet have been violent and hostile, and cannot be trusted?

Supergirl: I'd say...those are the kind of people who see what they want to see. And I'd point out that the "vast majority" of any group can't be determined if we're not being counted. We're not in the census. There's no "extraterrestrial" box on any of those forms. The truth is, there are more aliens on this planet than you know. Refugees, like me. They live peacefully, but in hiding, because they're afraid. Afraid of being treated like criminals or science experiments, taken away in the middle of the night without a warrant, without cause, without due process. Without basic human rights. Because we're not human. But that doesn't mean we're not people.

"...Kara, this is amazing," Alex beamed, fully awake now as she sat up in bed beside her girlfriend and began to read over her shoulder.

"You really think so?" Kara asked, biting her lip nervously. "You haven't even gotten to the good part yet. The part where I say I do trust the people of National City, and invite them to ask me their questions with the #AliensArePeople hashtag."

"I can't believe you have a Supergirl Twitter account. I can't believe Ms. Grant let you have a Supergirl Twitter account."

"Oh, I still have to send her everything I write so she can approve it, and she's the one who posts it. I don't even get to have the login. It's like I'm thirteen again, with Eliza standing over my shoulder trying to explain social media to me and keeping me from saying anything stupid," Kara rolled her eyes a little. Alex laughed.

"I am so, so proud of you, bluebird," the dark-haired girl murmured, holding Kara's face in both hands and kissing her lightly. "You're a whole new kind of hero now. Bulletproof, laser vision, and civil rights activist."

"Thanks," Kara smiled shyly. "I didn't do it all by myself or anything. Ms. Grant has been incredible, it's like I just won a level and got moved up. She was already kind of mentoring both of me when there were two me's, and now that she knows they're bothme, it's this huge weight off my shoulders," she sighed, smiling. Alex smiled back.

"All she did was give you a platform," the dark-haired girl said, gently but firmly. "You stood up and spoke for yourself. You were brave, you were honest. And very articulate. That was all you, Kar." Alex's dark eyes were shining with fierce pride, and Kara leaned in and kissed her. The tablet slid off the bed and hit the carpet as they sank into each other, one kiss deepening into another. It was a good day to be Supergirl.

When they were too hungry to stay in bed ravaging each other any longer, they got up and made breakfast, a celebratory affair with a huge stack of chocolate chip pancakes, along with bacon and eggs and two boxes of Pop Tarts as an appetizer while Kara waited impatiently for Alex to finish cooking.

"Any action yet on that hashtag?" Alex asked as she flipped a pancake off the griddle and onto a plate.

"Tons," Kara smiled, one hand racing over the keyboard on her tablet while the other was shoving a sugary Pop Tart in her mouth. "Some are pretty scathing, but Ms. Grant warned me that would happen...but most are good. Supportive. There are even some from kids, asking what video games I like to play and what my favorite kind of ice cream is. Those are the best ones, Alex."

"Yeah?" Alex smiled, charmed by her girlfriend's innocent enthusiasm.

"Yeah," Kara nodded, unwrapping another package of Pop Tarts. "Because it shows the whole world that I'm a person, not just a flying freak from outer space. That's the point. Now maybe if we can get some basic civil rights, people like Hank—I mean, J'onn—can come out of hiding...and maybe one day I won't even have to keep my identity secret anymore."

"One thing at a time, babe," Alex grinned proudly, turning off the stovetop and setting the huge plate of pancakes in the middle of the kitchen table.

"Thanks for making me breakfast," Kara grinned back, pulling Alex into her lap and rubbing a smudge of flour off her girlfriend's cheek. "This will be the second-best thing I've eaten today...and it's not even 9am." Alex giggled, and Kara kissed her thoroughly. They might've forgotten their food entirely and started peeling each other's clothes off again, but they both heard Kara's stomach give a loud rumble of protest. Alex laughed against Kara's lips.

"Eat your breakfast, horndog." the young DEO agent sighed with a smile, returning to her own chair and pushing the pancakes toward the flush-faced blonde alien, who was still looking at her like she was breakfast. "I know I'm yummy, but I won't keep your tummy from growling."

"Yes dear," Kara said sarcastically, but she was smiling too. For a few minutes they ate their breakfast in relative quiet, both of them following the long line of questions and comments directed at Kara's new hashtag on her tablet, and watching the answers pop up as Ms. Grant approved and posted them from "Supergirl's" Twitter feed, some with small changes to vague up anything that might be too revealing or compromise Kara's secret identity. It really was good that Ms. Grant was helping her with this.

"So, miss alien rights activist...it's Saturday. No more excuses," Alex said gently as the last pancake disappeared. "Are you coming into the DEO today? We need to find out what Astra knows. We need to find out about Myriad." Kara pouted and sat back in her chair dejectedly.

"Why does it have to be me, Lexie? Why does it always have to be me? Don't we have a whole team of DEO agents who are specially trained to interrogate terrorists?"

"We do," Alex nodded gently, squeezing Kara's knee under the table in silent support. "They've been trying, baby. You know they have. But Astra says she won't talk to anyone but you. It's been two days, Kar. We can't wait any longer. I know you don't want to talk to her...but I also know you won't stand by while people get hurt. Myriad could launch tomorrow. Or Non and his troops could attack the DEO and break her out before we get any information out of her. And how would you feel then?"

"Okay, okay, I know," Kara sighed, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. Alex scooted her chair a little closer and rubbed her girlfriend's back.

"I'm sorry this is hurting you so much," the dark-haired girl murmured regretfully. "Astra is your only living link to your family, to home...Clark may be your blood relative, but he doesn't remember Krypton. Astra is the only person left alive who's known you your whole life. Someone you trusted, someone who loved you. I can't imagine how conflicted you must feel right now."

"Astra is not my family," Kara snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously. It might have intimidated anyone else, but not Alex.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love her." They stared at each other until Kara's eyes filled with tears.

"If I do go talk to her...will you come with me?" the blonde girl asked in a small voice.

"Try and get rid of me," Alex teased gently. Kara left her seat and crawled into Alex's lap, pressing her face silently into her girlfriend's neck. Alex held her tight, rubbing her fingers through long blonde hair.

"Okay," Kara sighed, breaking the silence as she sat up, rubbing a few tears away. "Let's go do this before I change my mind."

…...

They stood in front of the guarded door to Astra's holding cell for almost a full minute in silence before going in. Alex didn't badger Kara to hurry up, and Kara appreciated that. A lot. Finally, the blonde superhero slipped her hand into her girlfriend's and held on tight (not too tight, of course), and nodded to the guard to open the heavy lead door.

There was Astra, looking completely at ease as she sat silently in her green-glowing cell. The Kryptonite levels inside were calculated to be high enough to suppress her superhuman powers, but not high enough to cause her pain or cellular damage. Kara made a mental note to thank J'onn later for not subjecting her aunt to any cruel or unusual punishment. He knew better than anyone how slippery that slope was. The glass cell was radiation-proof, so Kara couldn't feel the effects of the Kryptonite from the outside as long as she didn't touch it.

"Little One...I knew you would come," the older woman beamed, standing up and pressing her hand against the glass wall of her cell. In the palm of her hand was one half of a toy spy beacon; the other half had been a gift to Kara on her seventh birthday, so they could send each other messages when Astra was off-world on business trips. A reminder of how close they had once been. Suddenly Kara had a stomachache. "Brave One," Astra nodded to the girl gripping her niece's hand protectively. "I am pleased to see you are well."

"Alex," Kara corrected her aunt with a snarl, a shot of adrenalin-fueled anger rushing through her body in a wave. She didn't like hearing her once-beloved aunt call her Little One anymore, and she sure as hell didn't like hearing the endearing nickname the older woman had chosen for her girlfriend. After trying to have her killed by a human-sized insect.

"Forgive me, niece, for taking any undue liberties. I meant no disrespect," Astra said calmly, taking her seat again.

"You know what's a good way not to disrespect someone? Don't try to kill them," Kara spat back at her. Alex could feel her trembling, and gave her hand a little squeeze. Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Astra just stared at her silently, waiting. "Well, you wanted me here, I'm here. Now talk. What is Myriad? Help us stop it, and I'll do everything I can to help you."

Astra smiled sadly. "I have already told you, sweet Kara. Myriad cannot be stopped. I may be trapped here, but Non is not. He and my soldiers have their orders. Soon the humans will be nothing but slaves to the greater good. Including yours." She nodded her head towards Alex, who stayed silent and glowering; but Kara could feel the nervous shiver of foreboding sweeping briefly through her girlfriend's body.

"She isn't property!" Kara yelled, letting go of Alex's hand and running up to the edge of her aunt's cage, slamming her fist angrily against the glass. The Kryptonite radiating through the glass kept her from doing any damage to the cell wall, and a brief wave of nausea traveled through Kara's body at the brief contact with the low-level Kryptonite radiation; but she didn't care. "You don't have the right to do this! You say humans are so backwards and primitive, but they eradicated slavery on this planet centuries ago. And now you want to enslave the entire human race? And you still don't see what a hypocrite you are?! Can't we all just be people? Why is that so hard?!"

"Kara, calm down," Alex murmured, putting a hand on the shaking blonde girl's back. When Kara turned to face her, there were tears streaming from her blue eyes.

"I don't know why I bothered coming down here," The blonde girl shook her head, wiping away her tears angrily. "Let her rot for all I care." With that, Kara turned on her heels and began to walk away towards the door, even as she heard her aunt begging for her to stay, to listen. But before she'd gotten three steps, the green glow of Kryptonite radiation suddenly filled the entire room, not just Astra's cell. Kara gasped in pain and stumbled to the floor, as the room began to pulse around her in waves of nausea and dizziness.

"Kara!" Alex cried, kneeling at her girlfriend's side in an instant. Why would Hank order the Kryptonite levels raised in this room when he knew Kara was in here questioning her aunt?

But Alex's question was answered before she could even voice it, as General Lane and his military entourage marched in, going straight to Astra's cell and unlocking the door. "What are you doing?" Alex demanded, one hand still resting protectively on Kara's back. "You don't have clearance to be down here. And you sure as hell don't have the authority to alter containment field levels in a DEO detention cell!"

General Lane gave a cruel, dismissive snort of laughter. "I think you'll find I have all the authority I need, little girl. I have an executive order signed by the president to take interim command of this facility until such time as the Kryptonian terrorist threat is neutralized. I'll be taking over this interrogation." He nodded to his men, and two of them entered Astra's cell and pushed her down onto her knees, holding her firmly as she was powerless to fight them. She looked, suddenly, as sick and weak as Kara did, under the green glow of the heightened Kryptonite levels.

"My name is Agent Alex Grey," Alex said coolly the pompous general, squaring her shoulders. "And I'm the Assistant Director of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations. Call me little girl again and I'll have you prosecuted for sexual harassment." The general completely ignored her, walking into Astra's cell now that she was subdued, along with another soldier who carried an ominous-looking black briefcase. When he opened it, Alex saw that it was full of vials of glowing green liquid, and a large, thick needle. Her eyes widened in horrified disbelief.

"Alex, I think I'm gonna throw up," Kara whispered, pale and sweaty under the green glow of the room. Then she slowly raised her head, and realized what the general intended to do to her aunt. "What are you doing? Stop it!" the blonde girl yelled, struggling to her feet even though the Kryptonite seemed like it was pushing her back down again, like she was trying to move through hurricane-force winds. Alex tried to hold her steady, but at the same time, keep her out of the general's way. If he really did have another damn executive order, there was nothing they could do about it, and Alex wasn't about to let Kara get hurt again, or get herself in trouble with the government.

"These are the people you would side with against your own blood?" Astra cried out, unable to look at her niece from her trapped position in her cell, on her knees with her head pushed down. The soldier who'd carried the briefcase took out the needle and filled it with liquid Kryptonite from one of the vials.

"No! Stop, please! Please!" Kara screamed, and Alex had to drag her backwards out of the room as the weakened blonde girl struggled against her, trying to return to her aunt's cell. "General Lane, we're better than this! We don't torture people!"

"You're right, Supergirl. We don't torture people," the general sneered; and with a nod to his officer, the syringe of glowing poison was injected into Astra's neck. Her blood-curdling howl of pain was accompanied by ripples of glowing green light running through her face, like the stuff was replacing her blood. Kara began to cry, screaming and begging for them to stop while Alex dragged her out of the room.

The moment the lead doors closed behind them, and the worst of the Kryptonite exposure was cut off from Kara's struggling body, Alex gently released her hold on her sobbing girlfriend; but instead of turning around and yelling at her to do something, as Alex was expecting, Kara bolted to the nearest trashcan and threw up. This had never happened before. Alex ran to her side and held her hair back, all other concerns momentarily forgotten.

"It's okay bluebird, it's okay...it's just the Kryptonite exposure that's making you feel sick. It's going to pass," Alex murmured, rubbing the blonde girl's trembling back in light, soothing circles. Kara just gave a pitiful whimper, leaning her forehead down against her hands on the rim of the tall trashcan.

"It hurts," she whispered, still leaning heavily on the trashcan as Alex soothed her and stroked her hair. "Alex, how could they do that to her...? Did the president really give General Lane permission to torture alien prisoners?" Kara leaned over and coughed hard, like her body was trying to force her to throw up again; but there was nothing left in her stomach to come up.

"Shh, I know baby...we're gonna figure this out," Alex promised, smiling gratefully at one of the agents guarding the door to Astra's cell as he silently approached them with a bottle of water in his outstretched hand. "Thanks, Williams." The tall man with the assault rifle slung across his chest gave a respectful nod, and returned to his post without speaking. Alex took the cap off the water bottle and gently put it in Kara's hand. "Here, can you take a little sip of this? You'll feel better. Not too much," Alex warned; and Kara took a very small sip, rinsing her mouth out and then spitting it into the trashcan. When she tried to stand up straight, she wobbled dizzily and grabbed onto the trashcan again for support.

"Lexie," Kara whimpered, her voice rough with pain and desperation. She couldn't even open her eyes without making the world tilt and spin around her.

"It's okay. I got you," Alex hummed softly, wrapping one arm firmly around her girlfriend's waist and gently pulling her upright. "You don't have to open your eyes. Just let me lead you, okay?"

"'Kay," Kara sniffled, fresh tears running down her cheeks. Alex knew she must be feeling really terrible if she was crying at the DEO. She didn't even seem embarrassed about it. They slowly made their way to the sunroom, and when Kara realized where she was, she tried to resist; but Alex wasn't having it.

"You are not getting past me right now, so don't waste your breath," the dark-haired girl said in a firm but gentle voice, pushing Kara down onto the flat surface of the solar panel and powering it on with one hand still pressed to Kara's shoulder, like the blonde girl might make a break for it. As if. Alex doubted she could fly right now even if she wanted to.

"I'm so stupid," Kara whispered, tears streaking down her face as she gave in and laid back flat on the glowing yellow sunbed. "Stupid fucking hashtag...like that's going to stop General Lane..."

"Hush, don't say that Kara. Just close your eyes and get your solar charge on...don't worry about anything right now but feeling better, okay my sweet girl?" Alex climbed onto the sunbed beside her crying girlfriend, who immediately cuddled up to her tightly, pressing her tear-streaked face into Alex's neck.

Later, when Kara was passed out asleep on top of Alex, her skin soaking up the healing rays of the bioengineered, concentrated sunlight, J'onn came into the sunroom and pulled up a chair beside the bed to talk to Alex in quiet, soothing voices, neither of them wanting to wake poor Kara from her much needed sun-nap.

"Alex, I swear, if I'd had any idea General Lane was coming, I would have warned you," J'onn said earnestly. Alex silently reached out one hand—the one that wasn't tangled in Kara's hair—and he took it, comforting her like a daughter, not like a subordinate agent.

"I know that," the dark-haired agent said quietly. "This isn't on you, Hank." With General Lane and his lackeys running around the DEO, she knew it wasn't safe to call J'onn by his real name. "Did those neanderthals actually get any information out of Astra?"

"Just more of the same vaguely ominous and self-aggrandizing threats," J'onn sighed with a shake of his head. "Myriad cannot be stopped. Killing me will only bring the wrath of my soldiers upon your loved ones faster. The usual."

"Gee, you mean torturing enemy prisoners isn't an effective interrogation tool? I guess General Lane hasn't read the Geneva Conventions lately," Alex said in a quiet but heated voice. Kara whimpered and stirred slightly on top of her girlfriend's warm body; but she didn't wake up. Alex lightly stroked her hair again to settle her back down. That was when Kara's personal cell phone began to ring inside her boot, and Hank quickly pulled it out and handed it to Alex before the sound could wake Kara up.

"Hello Ms. Grant, it's Alex," the dark-haired agent said quietly. "...Yes, Kara's okay. I mean, sort of. I know she stopped sending in her tweets. We've had a bit of a difficult morning here...I wish I could tell you more, but it's classified. All I can say is that we've just witnessed some civil rights abuses and Kara took it pretty hard. She was also exposed to some harmful radiation, she's sleeping now. ...No, no, she'll be fine...yes, I'm sure..." Hank listened to Alex's end of the conversation with a small smile. He was glad that Kara had a boss who cared for her and doted over her like a parent...the same way he did for Alex.

…...

It was late afternoon by the time Kara woke up, instantly asking for food which was a huge relief to Alex. Once she'd eaten, the blonde girl impatiently submitted to a short round of tests to confirm that her powers were fully intact, and then they finally let her go. She flew straight to Ms. Grant's house, desperate to talk to her mentor about everything that had just happened even if she couldn't share all the details of the classified information. Though the solar bed had restored her powers, she still felt a little shaky, and she flew a bit slower than she normally would, arriving at Ms. Grant's house about five minutes after she left the DEO. Normally, she would have crossed state lines in less time than that. When she landed on the second floor balcony and walked inside, Ms. Grant was seated calmly on the sofa with two cups of hot tea in front of her, apparently expecting Kara's arrival.

"Alex called you, didn't she?" Kara said with a wry smile as she sat down beside her boss on the comfortable couch and took a sip of the sweet tea. It was warm and steadying.

"Actually, I called her," Cat Grant admitted, raising one eyebrow as she looked her assistant up and down, assessing her for any signs of physical distress in a rather motherly way. "Actually, I called you, but she picked up your phone. I was concerned when you stopped sending me your Supergirl tweets so abruptly. Alex told me what happened, in the vaguest black-ops way possible. Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Kara sighed dejectedly, pushing the tea away. Ms. Grant just continued to stare at her with one eyebrow raised. "I mean...physically," Kara admitted after a moment of awkward silence. "I'm just...sad. And angry. And confused. How do you know who to fight for when both sides are so awful to each other, so brutal? I saw at least four international peace accords being broken today by the US military. And my...the Kryptonian prisoner..." Kara caught herself, knowing she couldn't give Ms. Grant too much classified information about the identity of a DEO prisoner; she was still a civilian after all. "Well, let's just say she's no better at respecting human rights than anyone else in this mess. She told me to my face that she's planning to enslave the entire human race to do her bidding...I just don't know who the good guys are anymore." Kara rubbed her temples, trying to clear her confusing thoughts.

"You, Kara. You're the good guys," Ms. Grant smiled encouragingly, squeezing her arm. Kara smiled weakly. Of all the things to be happy about with Ms. Grant knowing she was Supergirl...it was nice to hear her boss finally say her name right. "And me. And Alex," the older woman continued gently. "We're going to show the world what it looks like to fight for change from a place of hope, not fear. Starting right now, if you feel up to it."

"Right now?" Kara asked blankly.

"Well, our article combined with your new hashtag has had quite an impact," the older woman explained with a small, triumphant smile, sitting back and crossing her arms smugly over her chest. "In the last six hours, there have been over a hundred thousand tweets. Not all directed at you, even. It's happening, Kara. We started a national conversation on alien civil rights."

"We...we did?" Kara asked, wide-eyed with wary disbelief.

"We certainly did," Ms. Grant nodded. "And now, as is wont to happen, an ultra-conservative senator has taken it upon herself to call an anti-alien rally in McCarren Park to condemn us. Well, mostly you. I'm just a lowly collaborator." The older woman smirked, and Kara couldn't help smiling back at her.

"You're a lot more than that, Ms. Grant. Carrying planes and blasting bad guys out of the sky, that's the easy part for me. But this media stuff...I could never have done any of it without you," Kara said earnestly. She must have been getting a little too heartfelt for her acerbic boss's taste, because Cat Grant just rolled her eyes.

"Of course you couldn't," the older woman smirked. "But the fact remains that Senator Miranda Crane is on a podium in McCarren Park right now, stirring up a mob mentality and calling for a giant dome to be built over the United States to keep extraterrestrials out of our borders."

"A...a dome?" Kara asked in bewilderment, wondering if anyone could seriously think building a United-States-sized dome was a viable option.

"Yes, I know, I usually prefer to let her kind talk themselves into a hole and let the news write itself...but we're not just reporting the news now, are we Kara? We're making it." Kara smiled weakly, heartened by her boss's unrelenting faith in her. "So, in that capacity, I think it would be highly advisable for you to put in an appearance at this little rally. Ask her your questions, get her on the ropes."

"But...but I wouldn't know what to say," the blonde girl shook her head shyly, suddenly more Kara Danvers than Supergirl, even though she was still in her blue and red uniform and cape.

"Yes you do," Ms. Grant said calmly without missing a beat. Kara chewed her lip, considering. That was when her DEO earring-phone went off.

"Shit. Sorry," she sighed to her boss, tapping her earring once to answer. "Alex? Is everything okay?"

"Not even a little bit," the young agent sighed regretfully at the other end of the call. "I know you just got done rebooting from Kryptonite poisoning and everything, but...our scanners picked up the biochemical signature of those Kryptonite-proof suits Astra's soldiers always wear. They're moving toward McCarren Park. Fast."

"Great, that's fantastic," Kara sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose. "They're after Senator Crane. So once again I'm off to save the life of someone who wants me dead or in alien jail or shot back into outer space."

"I know babe, I'm so fucking sorry..." Alex sounded stressed, the way she did when she was worried and overprotective of her favorite blonde alien.

"No. It's okay, Alex," Kara shook her head, and Ms. Grant saw her demeanor visibly shift as the young superhero sat up straight, squaring her shoulders determinedly. "Now I don't have to make a speech or anything to prove her wrong. I can just show up and save her ass while she's on half a dozen live newsfeeds condemning me. Let the public decide for themselves who's less than human."

"That's my girl," Alex grinned proudly. "Listen, General Lane and his team of man-beef are already en route, so you better get yourself in the air pronto. If they get there before you...they could literally start a war."

"I'm gone," Kara nodded, tapping off the call. She looked back up at her with a sigh. "Looks like I am going to Senator Crane's rally. You might want to sit this one out, Ms. Grant."

"I'll take your word on that," Ms. Grant smiled humorlessly. "Go. Save some lives. Prove that xenophobic fool wrong on her own turf. I'll call James, make sure he gets some good pictures. He's already there." Kara nodded, and without any formal goodbyes she shot out the window, ten times faster than she'd flown on her way in.

…...

General Lane and his team were nowhere to be seen as Kara zipped through the sky, closing in on the public park; but Astra's army was closing in fast, there was already screaming and trampling rippling through the crowd, as frightened people dropped their Take Back America signs and ran for their lives.

"You're all insects!" Non roared, laughing cruelly as he flew above the crowd, and shot his laser vision straight at the terrified senator.

But...Kara got there first. She shot straight down out of the sky and blocked the senator's body with her own, holding her cape around them both to shield the older woman from what would have been a deadly blast. James, who had not run for cover when the screaming started, snapped another perfect picture: Supergirl saving the life of a powerful US Congresswoman who had moments before been condemning her very existence.

"Run! I'll hold him off!" Kara screamed at the senator, pushing her towards her bodyguards, who were picking themselves up from the ground after the force of Non's laser blast had knocked them all down. The older woman hesitated for a split second, looking back and forth between her shaken bodyguards, and the blazing blue eyes of the young alien who had just saved her life.

"I'm sorry," Senator Crane said earnestly.

"Go!" Kara screamed, unable to form any more words as she spun up into the air to face Non. The crowd continued to scatter as the Kryptonians fought across the sky; General Lane's team showed up just a few minutes later, but they were hopelessly outmatched and unprepared, which was something the cocky, pompous general had obviously never experienced before. But a few minutes after that, Hank and Alex showed up with a DEO field team in two unmarked black humvees, one with a bazooka mounted on top.

The fight was fierce and bloody, but thanks to Kara there were no civilian casualties. Alex took a pretty hard knock on the head, but she sprang back up again so fast, Kara figured it must not be as bad as it had looked. Outnumbered by the combined force of the military, the DEO, and Supergirl, Non finally gave the command for his soldiers to retreat; and they were gone almost before anyone realized the battle was over.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kara asked gently as she landed next to Alex, reaching out and gingerly stroking the side of her girlfriend's head. Alex flinched back reflexively.

"Fine. Just a bump. I'm still standing," the dark-haired girl waved a hand dismissively, with a wry little smile. Kara rolled her eyes.

"That's only because you're too stubborn to pass out," the blonde girl joked to mask her anxiety. "C'mere, let's get you to a medic..." Alex didn't resist as Kara lead her by the hand over to the DEO vehicle that didn't have the bazooka, where a few of the medical agents were triaging minor injuries. Really, they had all gotten very lucky. No one was dead or on the ground, no need for any emergency evacs. But Alex did have a concussion, and Hank insisted that she come back to the DEO for a full medical workup, just to be sure there were no other hidden head injuries lurking below the surface. Kara was halfway into the humvee beside her girlfriend when Alex stopped her, begging her in a slightly whiny voice to go home and get her comfy pajamas and her favorite fuzzy blanket. If she was going to be forced to stay at the DEO overnight, she was going to be cozy.

Alex being cranky and demanding was oddly comforting to Kara, because she knew it meant her girlfriend wasn't too badly injured. When Alex was really in pain, she shut down completely. "PJ's and fuzzy blankets coming right up," the blonde girl cooed with a sweet smile, closing the door of the humvee so she was momentarily alone with Alex, kissing her slowly and deliberately, one hand gently cradling her girlfriend's cheek.

"I love you," Alex murmured, her voice a little sleepy now as the effects of her concussion began to kick in.

"I love you too, Lexie. See you in a minute." Kara smiled encouragingly and opened the door, shooting into the sky faster than a bullet shooting from a gun.

…...

When Kara landed on their apartment balcony and let herself in through the sliding glass door, she felt her stomach growl angrily, suddenly realizing she hadn't eaten in several hours. And she'd just kicked large amounts of alien ass, which tended to burn through the calories pretty quickly. Deciding that a five minute snack wouldn't do any harm, Kara walked into the kitchen, still clad in her blue suit and red cape, and began rooting through the fridge; but then a strange, soft sucking sound caught her attention from the corner of the ceiling above her. It was a weird sound; and having no idea what it was, Kara naturally looked up.

She had less than half a second to be horrified by the outstretched tentacles encircling her before everything went deeply, peacefully black.

…...

...To be continued, of course! With a guaranteed shorter wait this time! ;)