Full title: +1. American Football (Saving her from a kryptonite bullet)

Author's Note: The first two paragraphs of this chapter are actually the first two I wrote for the story, and when I tell you it's the favorite bit of fanfiction backstory I have ever written, that is the truth.

William Dey had joined his school's American football team at the age of twelve. He was the scrawniest player on the team and was almost kicked off on multiple occasions, but he was clear-headed and made good enough plays that he managed to keep his spot. By the time he reached puberty, started working out, and became one of those incredibly attractive academics that no one seems to know what to do with, William had decided he was more of a pacifist than a football player and had joined student government instead.

No one standing in the upscale charity benefit would have guess that particular tidbit about William's past, however, as he threw himself in a full football-tackle at the hostile alien about to kill his girlfriend.

He was out of practice and his aim was off. William caught the alien's shoulder with the tips of his fingers and slammed his arm. The gun the alien was holding went off but hit a pillar instead. People screamed, William hit the floor, and the alien staggered in surprise.

Kara Danvers, her suit ripped and her skin glowing with lines of green, struggled to get to her feet. She and William had been covering the annual cure-for-cancer charity event for CatCo when an Earth-resident alien had attacked. She had quickly changed into Supergirl and prepared to save the day, but was abruptly stopped by the presence of Kryptonite, which the alien had somehow come into possession of. Now she was on the floor with a shard of Kryptonite imbedded in her collarbone, unable to do anything as the alien turned his gaze to William.

The alien was mostly humanoid, save for a long tentacle or head-tail or something that ran from the back of his bald skull. He had sharp cheekbones and beady glare, and hadn't spoken a word since he'd crash landed in the benefit's ballroom. There seemed to be no motivation to his attack, which meant that there would be no stopping him with words alone.

William flipped onto his back, glanced over at Kara to make sure she hadn't been hit, then looked back towards the alien. "Look, mate," he said, holding up his hands. "I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish with this attack, but everyone here- they're just trying to make the world a better place. They don't deserve to die, and neither does Supergirl."

The alien glowered. "You think they're trying to make the world a better place?" he growled. "You chat and eat and drink and pretend like you're making a difference. But guess who has cured cancer? Nobody."

So it seemed that perhaps the attack was motivated.

"These people aren't scientists!" William protested. "And the people who are scientists are doing their best-"

The alien leveled his gun at William. "You're right," he said. "These people aren't scientists. I should be finding them instead."

With that, he blasted off into the air.

William watched him in horror, realizing what he'd just done. Kara let out a groan. "We- have to stop-" She coughed and flopped back to the ground, agonized tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

William slid over to her. "What can I do?" he asked seriously, using his fingers to gently turn her face.

The kryptonite shard imbedded in her skin pulsed slightly and Kara whimpered. "You need to pull it out."

William wanted to protest. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her more pain, but he knew she was right. Besides, if Kara wasn't able to go save the day, people's lives would be in serious danger.

"All right," he relented, resting one hand on her shoulder and pinching his fingers around the exposed bit of kryptonite. "Ready?"

Kara gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "Do it."

William pulled with all his might, the kryptonite shard sliding out of Kara's skin. She let out a groan of pain and ground her teeth together, but the moment he tossed the rock as far as he could away, the green lines in her skin started to fade. She began to stumble to her feet.

"Hey," William said, grabbing her arms and helping her all the way up. "Come back to me."

He wanted to kiss her, because he was more scared for her then than he had been in awhile. But they were standing in the middle of a crowd of terrified donors, all eyes on them.

Kara offered him a smile and a quick nod. "I will."

Author's Note: Thank you all for tuning in! This will (probably?) be my last Willara story, so I hope you enjoyed. Sorry again for that obnoxious hiatus right smack dab in the middle *facepalm*