Author's Note: I thought I was done! But then I remembered that William is still on Lex's Most Wanted list and I kind of have to resolve that and honestly I just wanna keep going so let's do it amiright?

I see how this is gonna go

Touch me

And you'll never be alone

Taylor Swift, "…Ready For it?"

"I was so hungry," Kara groaned, taking a gigantic bite of a hamburger.

"Yeah, we can tell," Alex teased, hip-checking her.

Team Rescue-Supergirl (now with the addition of Kelly) were all crammed around Kara's kitchen island, where a spread of food more massive than William had ever seen anywhere save a restaurant was laid out in front of them. Kara had her plate loaded and had been steadily eating through all her favorite foods for the past half hour.

It was understandable. She burned through calories at a way increased rate due to her alien biology, and she hadn't had a solid meal in over a week. Most of the rest of the Team was digging in, too, having been up almost all night without any snacks.

William couldn't find his appetite, though. He was beyond relieved that Kara was home and safe and even seeming like her old peppy self, but there was an uneasiness in his chest that he couldn't quite shake. While things might have seemed like they had resolved, he knew that Lex Luthor was still out there, unaware that they were at the end of this particular story arc.

William hadn't quite built up the guts to tell Kara that he'd confronted Lex. He knew that she'd be absolutely appalled and didn't want to worry her so soon after getting her out of the Phantom Zone. She deserved a day where she could just relax, rest, and eat all the cronuts and pad Thai her heart desired.

He just hoped that day off didn't lead to him getting assassinated.

"I need to head into work." Kelly said regretfully, checking her watch. It was nearly eight in the morning now, and William realized that he should probably be clocking in, too.

"I, for one, am taking the day off," Alex announced, slinging her arm around Kara's shoulders. "And spending it all with you."

"Yayyy," Kara grinned, giving her a side hug even as she chewed her way through some more food. "We can rewatch Brooklyn 99 all day!"

Brainy stood up. "I should begin work at the Tower," he said, before glancing over at Nia. The wound in her side had ended up requiring a couple stitches, and William could see the slight bulge of a bandage underneath her shirt. "Would you like me to drop you off at CatCo or your apartment?"

"CatCo would be great," Nia accepted, getting to her feet.

"I should probably go, too," William excused himself, putting his hand on Kara's shoulder for a second before reaching to a nearby chair and picking up his jacket. "Call me if you need anything? I might have some scones in the freezer that I could bring over after work."

Kara grinned over at him. "I mean, I'm not going to say no…"

"William," J'onn spoke up, his face creasing seriously. "Are you sure that it's the right decision for you to be going into CatCo? You were targeted by a Lex Luthor commissioned assassin just last night."

"Wait, what?" Kara demanded, the smile dropping off her face. "Sorry- how is this just coming up now?"

"Kara, we just rescued you an hour ago," Alex protested. "We haven't had time to fill you in on much of what's happened lately. For example: everyone thinks that you're off with Cat Grant, investigating this huge story."

Kara stared at her incredulously. "That was your guys' excuse?" she groaned. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

William used the brief distraction to start to edge his way to the door, but Kara turned on him and pinned him with a look. "Hey, wait, no. You're staying here, at least until we can figure out a way to get Lex Luthor off your back. Why is he even after you, anyway?"

"William thought it would be a good idea to confront Lex about sending you to the Phantom Zone," Nia piped up from near the front door, where she and Brainy had paused to watch the drama. William was about to send her a reproachful look, but then he remembered that he had kind of thrown her under the bus earlier by revealing to Kara that it was Nia who'd told him she was Supergirl.

Kara groaned, head tipping back. "Yeah, you're staying here," she ordered.

"What, at your apartment?" William asked incredulously. He was desperately in need of a shower and change of clothes, not to mention time to actually pack if he was going to be switching places of residence for who knew how long. "Kara, I can't just start living with you."

Kara pinked. "I didn't mean it like that," she huffed, elbowing Alex in the ribs as her sister started to smirk. "If it makes you that uncomfortable then I'll come stay with you! Like a- a bodyguard, kind of."

That was a slightly more appealing option. But William took in the deep bags under Kara's eyes and the sallowness of her cheeks and knew he couldn't force her to come and stay with him when she'd just gotten home.

"No," he declined. "I can't ask you to do that. But I do need to go home and get a few things."

Kara nodded reluctantly, hopping up from her barstool and hurrying over to a drawer in the living room. "Before you go…" she said, picking up an item from the drawer and then heading towards William. "I think you've earned this."

She picked up his hand from where it was dangling by his side and carefully strapped an average-looking silver watch to his wrist. "If you need me," she explained, "press the center button one. If it's a trap, press it twice. And this is for emergencies, okay?"

"Of course," William replied, nodding gravely and feeling like he'd just been knighted.

"She only says that because of one time I was out of milk and she wasn't responding to texts," Alex groaned, rolling her eyes.

Kara shrugged, not denying it, and patting William on the arm. "Be careful, okay?"

He leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek. "You know me."

"Yep," Kara winced. "That's what I'm worried about."

W / T \ Y

William was unable to resist a distraught groan when he stepped into his apartment and remembered the state he'd left it in. His door was barely still on its hinges, the locks damaged beyond use. His window was even worse, just a messy, empty frame letting cool morning air billow in. Glass shards were scattered across his entire living room like glitter, and there were two distinct holes in the wall from the shots.

His scotch, remarkably, was still completely untouched on the table. William dumped it into the sink and put the glass in there, too.

It didn't take him long to throw some necessities into a bag. He affixed a sheet to the window to at least keep out any curious birds, and headed back out the door.

He'd made it about three steps when a hand was grabbing him from behind, clamping a cloth to his mouth. William inhaled something sickly sweet and the world spun in front of him.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself tied to a chair in a grey, sound-proofed room, a hardwood floor beneath his feet. William squinted past his headache, and immediately noticed an emptiness on his arm.

His Supergirl alert watch had been taken.

Of course it had.

William tipped his head back and let out a groan. In retrospect, going to his compromised apartment alone when he knew that Lex was on the lookout for ways to stop him had been one heck of a rookie move.

Kara would have to notice he was gone, right? Their apartments weren't all that far away, and as time ticked by she'd have to realize that something had happened to him and come to his rescue.

There was a soft swishing sound as the door set into the wall William was facing slid open. A figure stepped inside. He was shrouded by shadow, but his stature, bald head, and way of holding himself was absolutely unmistakable.

"Lex Luthor," William said, rolling his eyes. "What a surprise."

"Well, it's a relief I wasn't shooting for unpredictability, then," Lex snarked, stepping further into the room.

"Then what were you shooting for?" William shot back.

"Something very interesting happened early this morning," Lex said, ignoring the question. He tucked his hands behind his back and began to pace slowly around William's chair. "I sent a, shall we say, underling of mine to go… clean up a mess. But when he arrived at said mess, the mess had… backup. Superhero backup."

Lex paused directly in front of William and leaned in closer. "I've learned over the years that superheroes are much like deer running into the road, right in front of a car," he said. "Where there is one, there are usually many more."

All at once his hand shot out, closing around William's throat. William thrashed, wrists straining at his bindings. "So tell me, Willy," Lex hissed. "If you're so tight with the Superfriends now… who is Supergirl, really?"

William let out a strained laugh. "Really?" he rasped, choking on the feeling of Lex's fingers pressing into his windpipe. "You think that you could- come in here and- intimidate me into- into telling you Supergirl's identity?"

"Well, at least you aren't playing dumb," Lex allowed. "I really do hate it when they play dumb."

His fingers tightened. "I will find out, Willy," he said decidedly. "Eventually, somehow… I will find out Supergirl's identity. Whether you're alive to see it… well. That's up to you."

Lex let go of William's neck and the journalist keeled forward, coughing violently. His wrists strained against their bindings and he gritted his teeth, pushing himself upright again.

"I have spent my life trying to find a way to eradicate Kryptonians from this planet," Lex said, beginning to pace around William's chair again. "My life. Do you know what that makes me, Willy? It makes me a very. Patient. Man."

He drove his fist into William's stomach, leaning forward to hiss into his ear, "I could spend every hour of every day of the next ten years tearing off each piece of skin from your body if it meant that I would learn what I wanted to know. So I'll ask again: who is Supergirl?"

"She's me."

Lex spun around, drawing away, and William lifted his head. There stood Kara Danvers, glasses off and dressed in her super suit. "I am Supergirl," Kara reiterated. "And I really don't like it when you hurt my friends."

With that, she punched Lex Luthor across the face and knocked him out cold.

I forget their names now

I'm so very tame now

Never be the same now

Taylor Swift, "…Ready For It?"

Author's Note: I gotta love that the circumstance of having two ships at the same time on the same show that I was so excited for was brutally ruined by Kara being in the Phantom Zone for the first 7 episode of Supergirl but I really do gotta love that that will no longer be an issue for the next 13 or so!

In short, I'm very excited for August 24th because I get my babies back yayyyyy! I can't wait to watch their relationship grow and develop. I can't wait for their first kiss and first hug and for her to tell him she's Supergirl. Fellow Willara shippers, we're gonna have so much fun next half-season :D