Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowlings and Supergirl the CW. I own nothing and I don't make any money from this story.

_o0o_

Chapter 5: Are We Allies?

"Alex Danvers was worried.

You'd never know it by looking at her as she sat at her computer in her lab. Because even in this rare private moment, in the solitude of her personal work space, her face was still kept carefully neutral. Not out of etiquette, necessity or even ingrained habit. It was because she was afraid if she lifted the lid on the box containing her emotions then she may start smashing things like her sister had done.

She took a sip of her, by now, lukewarm coffee before turning her eyes back to the screen. She had been watching the same security footage over and over. Ever since her sister had flown off in the worst mood Alex had ever seen.

"J'onn had called her, Winn, and James to the main control room as soon as Kara had marched out of the room. They all watched the entire conversation while Winn recorded it. Needless to say, the conversation didn't go as expected.

"She pressed the button to rewind it back to the beginning again. Truthfully she had probably already gleamed everything she was go to from the short conversation. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to try and find something to help her feel more prepared for when she herself finally stood on the other side of that transparent wall.

'Kara didn't exactly go in there with the intent to interrogate him. She made the same mistake when we held Maxwell Lord. Just marched into his cell to taunt him. I love her, but Kara is not a real agent.' She thought with some contempt. 'That's what I'm here for.'

"But Paladin didn't have to threaten their mother to piss her off the way Max did. 'No, he took a different approach.' She thinks as she presses play again.

"He was just standing in front of the door to his cell, barely even twitching. 'For a guy who could break the sound barrier in a pair of sneakers he can be frighteningly still.' Was Alex's first thought every time she watched this. His arms were crossed in front of him. 'A defensive posture. He's expecting a confrontation.' Kara marched into view right up to the door of his cell. Her stance mirrored his.

"They glared at each other for a moment. Alex could see her sisters eyes moving over his body. Taking in his form and the multitude of scars that littered it. 'They certainly caught my attention.' She thought with some sarcasm. 'From a medical view point: major trauma. But some of the scars are older than others. Obviously sustained over a long period of time. What could do that to a speedster?'

"You're not going to escape this time. You're going to answer for every crime you've committed. Every person you've hurt." Kara declared with firm conviction. "You're going to face justice. We've got you now."

'You could have been a little more subtle with your intentions Kara.' Alex brought her mug to her lips and took another sip of coffee. Paladin just blinked for a moment before he busted out laughing at Kara.

Setting her mug back down, Alex let out a deep sigh. 'If he wanted to piss her off there wasn't much more he could have done then laugh in her face.'

"Seriously? You're laughing?" Kara exclaimed, her incredulity clear in every syllable. "If you think you can escape then you are dumber than you look. This cell is designed to hold meta-humans, even a speedster. You aren't going anywhere."

"Bloody hell, you have a one track mind you know that." That, right there, was the first real thing that they had managed to learn about Paladin. That accent and his use of the words bloody hell.

'Paladin is British.' That went in the first line of Alex's mental checklist.

"And you misunderstand my amusement. I'm not laughing because I know I can escape," Item number 2: He is either very arrogant, or he already has a method of escape. "Its because you actually believe you caught me."

"Kara drew back like she had been slapped. "Hello. In case you haven't noticed, your in a cell." Kara said with obvious contempt as she put her hands on her hips in typical Kara fashion when she wanted to look more impressive.

"He just smirked and looked off to the side. Like he thought looking her in the eye would reveal the punch line to the joke. "Let's take a moment and examine that, shall we." His tone was that of a teacher lecturing a difficult child.

"Firstly, you didn't catch me. You weren't even in the building. Oh I can understand your need to entertain some fantasy about charging out of the DEO to apprehend the vicious speedster who had been terrorizing your city. But we both know the truth. You didn't catch me, I surrendered."

'Number 3: he has a theatrical side. I might be able to use that to trick him into revealing something.

"I meant the DEO caught you." Kara snapped.

"Secondly," He continued like her sister hadn't interrupted. "The DEO is a government organization that monitors alien activity. And despite a few subtle differences I am very much human. Jurisdictionally, your sister doesn't even have the authority to put me in here."

"You're A meta-human." Now Kara was smiling. "And the DEO does have jurisdiction to hold you." She said smugly, now that she had found something to counter him with.

"And thirdly," He continued without missing a beat, "I haven't committed any crime." Now he was the one who looked smug. "Unless impersonating a zoo animal is a crime on this earth." The smug looked suddenly dropped from his face. "Its not, is it?"

Kara looked like she was torn between laughing in incredulity, and punching him in outrage. "Your kidding right."

"Apparently she had settled on outraged.

"Not a week ago you paralyzed a man from the waist down."

This time it was his turn to interrupt. "A gun wielding criminal who was threatening the store clerk and a father trying to protect his daughter."

"And I don't even want to count how many people you have injured or maimed in the months since you arrived."

"All criminals who were a clear danger to the lives of those around them." He countered, almost exasperated.

Kara just looked stricken by his answer. "How can you do that? How can you be blasé about what you've done? I just don't get how you can be so cavalier about other peoples lives!"

"Well we can't have that Supergirl. I want no more secrets between us, so anything you don't understand I'll explain to you."

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary." Kara snarled through grit teeth. "I don't need, or want to understand you." Here Kara turned and march for the door. But she didn't get more than three steps before she was stopped by his voice.

"Supergirl, I'm disappointed in you." He chided. Kara half turned to look at him. "I thought you were all about justice and bringing hope to the masses. Yet you are willing to let such dangerous individuals threaten the lives of innocent people?"

"I am out there every day protecting the people of this city. I've helped to lock up hundreds of criminals. This city-... this planet is a better place because of me. And I have never had to resort to killing or permanently injuring the people I've apprehended."

"People like Maxwell Lord, who you never managed to connect to having his own train highjacked? People like Leslie Willis, who escaped containment multiple times? People like Morgan Edge, who you still can't prove tried to blow up hundreds of people at the waterfront a few days ago?" He rattled off far to quickly for Alex's comfort. "Or what about every prisoner from Fort Rozz who escaped and killed who knows how many people before you even knew that they were out there. All because your people didn't have the stomach to do what had to be done."

And there was number 4. 'He has a frightening amount of information that is supposed to be classified by the DEO.'

"Look I admit that the legal system isn't perfect-"

"How convenient for you."

"-but if we cross the line from protecting the innocent to punishing the guilty, then we are no better than the ones we are trying to fight."

"You mean like the Hellgrammite I apprehended for you? The rapist I killed last month? The mugger in the convenient store I paralyzed? Or any one of the multitude of other criminals and aliens I've stopped in the months I've been here." His voice was getting louder, and his tone was different. Alex wasn't sure how to describe it. But it made her think of an actor on a stage.

"So you admit your crimes?" Kara's voice was rising now. Either she was angry at his blatant disregard for the things he had done, or she was just trying to match the strength in his voice with her own. But the look on her sisters face made her heart ache.

"I ADMIT EVERYTHING." He spread his arms out wide as if to welcome any rage Kara might unleash on him. "Why not? My accomplishments speak for themselves. None of the monsters I captured will ever escape or harm another innocent ever again. Can you say the same?"

Kara seemed stunned into silence. Her lips kept twitching like she wanted to say something. Clearly she wanted to refute his claims. She wanted to prove that such violent tactics weren't just unnecessary but were reprehensible. Or maybe she just wanted to tell him to go to hell. Alex wasn't sure which. Either way, Kara never got the chance to decide what she was going to say before Paladin demonstrated the final point on her list, and dropped one last bomb that shocked all of them.

"And as for your ability to keep me in this cell..." He reached forward and placed his hand on the door near the lock, and slid it open. Alex wasn't ashamed to admit that the first time she saw that while standing in the DEO control room she almost jumped right out of her skin. The shock was plain on every face in the room. She and James were just about to charge right in there to help her sister with whatever fight was about to happen.

Turns out, it wasn't necessary.

Kara had tensed, ready for a fight, the moment he opened that door. But he never set one foot out of that cell. He raised his hands to shoulder height, and placed them on either side of the door frame to the cell. Then he just leaned forward until his nose would have been touching the glass if the door had still been closed, and spoke, "You didn't put me in here. You can't keep me in here. And most importantly, you don't have the authority to do so even if you could."

Then the smug jerk pushed off from the door turned and sat on the cot on the far side of the cell. Leaned back against the wall with his legs crossed in front of him, he looked as comfortable and relaxed as if he were lounging in his favorite chair at home.

He even left the door open.

The message was clear. 'I can leave whenever I want. And there is nothing you can do about it.'

Kara marched to the key panel and hit the button to close and lock the door. Then she stomped out of the room with Paladin watching her every step.

When she stomped into the control room with everybody else she was practically trembling with restrained anger. There had been other criminals who had managed to use loopholes in the law to get the better of the DEO, and Kara specifically. Lord, Roulette, Edge, just to name the most memorable.

They had all managed to push Kara's buttons in one way or another. But Alex had never seen anybody get under her sister's skin the way Paladin just did. The combination of the loss of Mon-El, the anger over his methods, and the indignation of his indifference was all just to far over the line.

Kara ignored every 'are you okay,' and 'don't listen to that jerk,' as she walked to the circular table in the control room. Everybody quickly fell quiet as she leaned her elbows on the table and her forehead against her interlaced fingers. She was clearly trying to compose herself and they were all going to let her.

What felt like hours to Alex, but could only have been seconds, passed before Kara broke the silence. She didn't bother looking up, but she asked the worst possible question she could have asked.

"Is he right?" The silence should have been answer enough, but Kara seemed to be glutton for punishment today. "Is he right? Do we have the authority to hold him, or not?"

All eyes around the table turned to look at J'onn and Maggie standing on the opposite side of the table from where Kara was hunched over.

Maggie had looked contrite, like she would have given anything not to have to answer. Fortunately for her J'onn saved her the trouble. "The DEO is an institution of the federal government of the United States of America. By law we can hold a suspect for up to forty-eight hours without cause. However, at that point we must charge him with something or we have to release him."

"Then we're good," James interjected. "Like Kara said he's hurt people, he's killed people. I know Winn recorded all the footage we had on him. We can charge him for every single crime."

"Its not that simple." Came Maggie's melancholy reply. Gaze sweeping around the table, Maggie looked like she was about to face a firing squad. She knew what she was about to say would not go over well. "I've seen all the footage that Winn has. And I know you don't want to hear this Kara," her gaze settled on Kara (whose knuckles had gotten whiter the more Maggie spoke) "but the truth is that he is right. Every action he took was in defense of somebody's life. I mean maybe we can make a case for excessive force, but..." She paused again. She knew she was about to slam the lid on the whole thing. "But I don't think there is a single prosecutor in National City who would bother to bring charges against him."

CRASH

Everybody took a quick step back from the table. Alex and Maggie's hands went to their holsters out of reflex. James had his arms raised like he was afraid to touch anything. Winn had quick as a flash, scooped up his tablet and was cradling it protectively to his chest. The only person who hadn't moved was J'onn.

In her frustration, Kara had slammed her clenched fists down on the table so hard that part of it collapsed. The light in the table had gone out and a few exposed wires were sparking.

But she didn't see any of this.

Alex doubted she even realized the damage she did. One second her hands hit the table and the next second her back was turned and she was fast marching towards the balcony. No one tried to stop her from flying off.

That was more than an hour ago.

J'onn had immediately called for somebody to fix the table before he asked Alex to be the next to speak with him.

'And I've been watching the same video footage over and over ever since.' Alex thought with some self recrimination. 'This isn't what I do. I don't hide from suspects. Why the hell am I still in here?'

Truth was she knew why she was in here. She was trying to calm down. Trying to separate herself from her feelings before she went in there to face him. She needs a clear head and control of her emotions. She had to go in there as an agent. Not the big sister who was about to give a bloody nose to the bully who had pushed her little sister on the play ground.

If she went in there with the wrong mentality, he would get under her skin the same way he had Kara's. 'But its time to stop hiding. Ready or not Paladin, here I come.'

Alex threw back the last of her, now cold, coffee and proceeded out of her lab and down to the holding cell. On her way through the control room she noticed the round table was being repaired. Winn was at the main console with his back to her.

J'onn was standing behind him. Facing the monitors when she walked in, but turned to look at her as she made her way to the holding cells. This strange pensive look crossed his face before he set his jaw and nodded at her and turned and spoke to Winn. Putting that strange look out of her mind, she proceeded down the hall, through the doors to the holding room, and up to the clear door of his cell.

What surprised her was that when she got there she looked in the cell and saw, not a man, but a big black panther lying on the cot in the cell.

In the time since Kara had stomped out of here, Paladin had apparently decided to get some sleep. 'Though why he would choose to sleep as a cat when he doesn't have too is just another thing in a long list of things that don't add up about him.'

For a moment she just watches him...it...whatever. If she didn't know it was a disguise she would think he was a real panther. From the twitch of his whiskers to the way the tip of his tail was swaying back and forth as it hung off of the cot.

'Kinda reminds me Streaky, and how he used to lounge right in the middle of the couch and nobody else could sit on it till he moved.'

But after watching him for a moment, her interrogation training kicked in, and Alex realized this was an opportunity.

'Step one for an interrogation. Get the subject off balance. Best move for that is shock and awe.' With that thought, Alex raised her fist and pounded several times on the glass.

Paladin jolted awake with a startled 'yowl' and a showing of, in Alex's opinion, impressive white fangs.

"Get up. We need to talk." Alex began without preamble.

In a very cat like move, he extended his front legs out arched his back and flexed his talons in a typical move for a waking cat. Then he stepped down from the cot and transformed back into his human form.

Again Alex noted the various scars on his body and that his eyes were still slit like a cats, before she decide to get started. "Why did you surrender?" Alex already knew the answer to that question. J'onn had pointed it out before Kara flew off an hour ago. But its a basic technique for getting information. First you ask questions you already know the answer to, or you don't think the subject would bother to lie about to create a base line. Then ask questions you think they would lie about and look for what they do differently. Simple human lie detector test.

After sitting through her classes on this Alex would have sworn her mother attended the same lectures. 'That has to be why Kara and I could never get away with anything.'

"Because I want the DEO to stop chasing me." Was his succinct reply.

"Why sleep as a cat?" This wasn't important, obviously. Alex was asking out of sheer curiosity.

He took a second to think before he just shrugged his shoulders. "Several reasons actually. Built in fur blanket, don't have that pain in your lower back and... your thoughts are simpler. Animal minds are less complex, more feelings and instincts than thoughts. Makes it easier to sleep." Hearing that Alex feels a brief pang of envy that she can't sleep as a cat.

Or any animal really.

"What's your name?"

"Paladin."

"No your real name?" Alex replied.

"Paladin is my real name." There. The way his right hand moved. He was running his thumb along one of his fingers. 'That's his tell.'

"Or at least the only one that really means anything to me."

Letting that last comment slide Alex got on to the real questions. "Where did you come from?"

He tilts his head to the side as if pondering his response. "Are you familiar with the theory of the multiverse?"

"Yes actually. You're not the first speedster to visit our earth from another one." Her answer seemed to surprise him for a moment. But he took it in stride.

"I come from a place you would call earth 47."

'Thats strange. His fingers twitched but he isn't running his thumb along them again. Does that mean he's not lying but he's concerned about the question. Like he doesn't want me to dig deeper. Or is this a lie he has told so many times it barely registers anymore?' Deciding this is something she can circle back to later, Alex moves to something more pressing.

"Why are you on our earth?"

"I don't know." His hand never moved. That stopped her in her tracks. Either Alex was totally wrong about his tell or he wasn't lying. But that would mean he has no idea why he is here.

"How the hell can you not know why you are on some other earth?" Her disbelief was plain in every syllable.

"Because they don't tell me why they send me places." He whispered, probably more to himself than to Alex. But whether he meant to or not he just raised a red flag for Alex.

"They. Who's they? And why are they sending you anywhere." Alex pushed to know, because that was just a vagueness that hinted more than it told.

"Inconsequential." He pushed back.

A short and clearly agitated reply. He's shutting down, and getting emotional. 'Good, lets get on to the most important questions.'

"Why did you steal the remote to the lead dispersal device?" She demanded.

"Two reasons. Firstly, when I saw Ms. Luthor give Kara the control to the device, I didn't believe she had the heart to use it. Not when it would cost her the man she loved." Pushing right past that insult to her sisters character, she demanded more. "And the second?"

"I didn't think she should have too. Nobody should have to endure that." He said with some melancholy in his tone. Sounded like he knew from experience.

Now Alex felt like the one off balance. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. All that anger at me. All that drive into apprehending me. All that loathing of my methods. What do you think that emotion would do...if it was turned inward?" Alex felt a cold chill run down her spine as she imagined what shape Kara might be in if, as he said, she hated herself as much as she seemed to hate him. And she felt a brief, and unexpected, swelling of gratitude for him. But attempting to move past that (for her own sake) she started pushing the interrogation harder.

"So I'm supposed to believe that what you did was an act of compassion."

"Yes." His voice was low and filled with a terrifying sort of rage. He was getting angry now. He didn't like his integrity questioned.

"How do you know so much about classified DEO operations?"

"Thats irrelevant." He growled. His teeth seem to be getting sharper and his nails were turning into claws.

"Its not irrelevant. Not. To. Me." She said with force.

"Well, forgive me, but I don't really care what you find relevant."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"HARRY POTTER." He roared.

A cold bucket of water was just thrown over Alex's temper. He broke their staring contest and started rubbing his forehead. Alex took a minute to try and process what she was just told and promptly starts to giggle.

Soon her giggles were full on laughter. He just turned to look at her. "And what exactly is so funny?"

"I'm sorry," Alex tried to say threw her fading laughter. "I just thinks it's hilarious that there are Harry Potter fans on other earths."

His face twisted in horror. "Oh no. You mean to tell me there is a J. K. Rowlings on this earth too?"

She just raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm sorry. Am I supposed to believe you are the real Harry Potter?" Alex said with humor and no small amount of incredulity.

In response, he twirled his arm over his head. Enunciated "Expecto Patronum," and swung his arm forward like a pitcher throwing a curve ball. A ball of bright light flew from his hand and expanded to form a translucent panther.

It watched her for a beat, before it roared at her and vanished into mist.

Alex didn't realize her jaw had dropped until it forms a little 'o.' "Wow."

_o0o_

"Harry Potter. Harry Potter? Harry...Potter!" Since the identity of who they were holding had been revealed, Winn had spent the last ten minutes pacing around his lab. Apparently trying to wrap his head around the concept that his favorite fictional character was apparently not so fictional.

"I know. Its unbelievable." Replied James from where he was sitting with his hands on his head. Just as stunned as his best friend. James had walked into the DEO mere moments after J'onn asked Winn to bring up the security footage on the holding cell. They saw the entire exchange between him and Alex.

She walked out of the holding area right after the big reveal. When she walked into the control room she did it with a glazed look on her face. In her defense, Winn doubted she went in there expecting to witness and actual patronus. James had agree that anybody would have good reason to be stunned by that.

It took a few tries for J'onn to get her attention. When he couldn't get more than a few one word responses out of her, J'onn decided to take her home for the night. Apparently, she was having just as much trouble wrapping her head around this as Winn and James were.

"So many things about this guy suddenly makes sense." Winn continued. "Like his ability to hide in plain sight thats got to be his invisibility cloak. And the helmet, we couldn't figure out how Kara could use it to breathe under water. Its got to be some variant of the bubble head charm. And the turning into a panther thing. He's an animagus. I mean I would have expected a stag, but a big cat is still cool. OH MY GOD." Winn rambled so fast James could barely keep up with what he was saying.

"They got it wrong. The books got it wrong. If they could get his patronus wrong then what else could be wrong. This is terrible." Winn was rapidly approaching the thin line between stunned amazement and crazed amazement. And if James didn't do something fast he was going to bodily throw himself over it.

"Hey look on the bright side," James began grasping at straws, and hoping Winn didn't pick up on it. "We have the chance to ask him ourselves exactly what the books got right and what they didn't."

Winn stopped dead in his tracks. He seemed to be contemplating James point. Finally, with a smile from Winn, and a relieved sigh from James, he seemed to calm down.

"You're right. We can ask him anything. All the questions Rowlings left unanswered. We have the chance to actually ask some one who was there. This is going to be so cool." He finished with a huge grin on his face. Winn made a few quick steps towards the door before he was stopped by James.

"Yeah but maybe we should wait until after we aren't holding him prisoner to have a friendly conversation about his life story."

Winn just stared at James for a moment before tilting his head back and forth into thought. "Yeah that might be a good idea."

_o0o_

It had been hours sense Alex had left. Sun light could be seen through the windows again. That meant he had officially been in this cell for more than twenty-four hours. One more day and they would have to let him go and wouldn't be able to pursue him anymore.

Earlier he thought he heard some kind of commotion. But obviously he wasn't going to go investigate. Not when he was so close to getting the DEO off his back.

Nobody else had tried to come and interrogate him. He was just beginning to think that he was going to be left alone for his final day when J'onn came charging into the room. Metal suitcase in hand, he near jogged up until he was right in front of the transparent door.

"Kara's in trouble," His urgency plain in every syllable. "I lost contact with her moments ago. She's up against a powerful telepath. If you take her out quickly then you should be able to stop her."

Harry paused for a breath before answering. "And why would I do that?"

J'onn looked stunned for a moment. Harry couldn't blame him for being surprised. They had been working together for months and Harry was tired of the secrecy. He had made the mistake of letting Alex know that he had an inside source at the DEO (among other things). But he managed not to throw J'onn under the proverbial bus. He had captured every alien that he had been sent after. He had done everything that was asked of him, and now he was sitting in a cell because he was trying to force the DEO to stop looking for him.

Frankly, Harry was wondering why he was following J'onn's orders when he seemed to be taking all the risks, and still keeping secrets for him.

"She has made it quite clear that she doesn't want my help. And I am just a little over half a day from not being chased anymore. Why would I jeopardize that by leaving this sell to do you a favor?"

J'onn seemed to contemplate his answer for a moment before responding. "I know you don't consider yourself a hero. And you and Kara are far from friends." He began, the tension in his voice plain to hear. "But she is an employee of the DEO, and we are allies-"

"ARE WE?" Harry shouted spreading his arms wide. His frustration with this whole situation finally getting the better of him. He dropped his arms and took one step closer to the door. If J'onn was willing to make his involvement with the DEO public then he could let him out of this cell without consequence. But if he left this cell without being released then it could be construed as escaping custody and he will have endured this incarceration and interrogations for nothing.

So he looked J'onn right in the eye. He intended to convey that he was done working in secret. "Are we allies J'onn?"

They stare at each other for a few moments before J'onn gives an almost imperceptible nod of his head. Apparently having come to some kind of decision. Breaking their impromptu staring match, he moved over to the key pad of the cell and opened the door.

Once it opens he moves back in front of Harry and hands him the metal case he entered with. Inside he finds his gauntlets, the spiked collar containing his suit, and his helmet. Looking back to J'onn he sees him taking his own communicator from his ear and holding it out to Harry.

"We'll guide you from here." He says, resolute. "Go help my girl."

There was a flash of silver, J'onn blinked and when he opened his eyes the case and cell were both empty.

_o0o_

There it is. Things are starting to get interesting. Next chapter Harry and Kara have to find a way to work together to take down Psi.

I want to take a moment and apologize for the long wait. I wish I could blame it on a technical problem, or even real life getting in the way. But the truth is I was stalled. I kept getting stuck on the fight between Harry and Kara. But thanks to some help from my new beta I got past it and the rest of the chapter just took off. So take a moment and say thanks to War Sage for his hard work.

On that note I will leave you with a quote I hope to work into the next chapter: I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. Anybody who can tell me who said that, with out looking it up on the internet, will win a walk on roll in the next chapter. Peace and happy holidays.