Back. Apparently people enjoyed my inclusion of the Lucifer gang. Excellent. As for the common question of the "how" of their presence, that will be explained in time. IT won't be this chapter, but it will most likely occur when Barry finds out about Lucifer. I've also got big plans on that front.
As for a Justice League, I have plans for something of that nature, but I'm not going to call it "the Justice League". I plan to have two major hero confederation groups, with the JL being one and the one Barry and Kara will start as the other. Open to name suggestions.
Alright. I've given you an idea of things to come. Now, on with the show.
Chapter 4: First Date and Return of the Kryptonians
National City, 0500, Kara's Apartment...
Barry groaned as the sun's rays began to hit him in the face. This was becoming an unwelcome trend, as the sun was now level with his face when it rose in the mornings. He mumbled something crankily before rolling over and burying his face in the crevice between the cushion and the arm rest. Kara had woken up early once again, as was her routine back in the armed forces of Earth-X, and found herself watching Barry sleep. She had a soft smile on her face, and she reached out to tenderly stroke his blonde hair a bit. While she had initially felt annoyance by the feelings she had received from the old Kara, she certainly accepted them now. While she'd first wondered if they were merely the old Kara's feelings, she knew she had fallen hard for Barry now. It was inevitable, really, given how sweet and goofy he was. He was truly unlike anyone she'd ever met before. After Kal died, her life was all about seeking power, despising weakness, and seeking revenge. Her life had been pretty bleak until she'd stumbled into his life. They were both stranded in this brave new world, and Kara was sure it was for the better of them both.
She was startled from her thoughts when a hand was suddenly placed on top of hers. She glanced down to see Barry looking up at her with a tired smile.
"Hey Karebear." The cheesy nickname prompted her to snort and roll her eyes.
"I assure you, Barry, I am nothing like those odd stuffed animals." She said dismissively, idly rubbing the palm of his hand with her thumb.
"Eh, I'm not sure. You're both pretty huggable and cute." His tone was flirty, though his eyes gleamed with mischief. Before she could move away, he playfully tugged her over to him, causing her to fall on top of him rather ungracefully. Instantly, their faces were inches apart, her wide greenish blue eyes staring into his mischievous blue orbs.
"Hi." He stated simply, still smiling cheerfully.
"Hello, Barry. How's it going?" She managed to grit out, trying to think of all the reasons she would regret decking him for flustering her spectacularly. She let out a 'meep' when he wrapped his arms around her, before he closed his eyes and laid his head back.
"Oh, you know. Much better now." She had to hand it to Barry. He could be a smooth operator when he wanted to be. "Oh, by the way, I get paid an advance since I agreed to start a week early. So dress nicely. I'm picking you up at 7 tonight for dinner at one of my coworker's restaurants."
Kara just looked at him incredulously.
"You work for the cops. How the hell does a cop own a restaurant?"
"Oh Lucifer isn't a cop. He's a consultant. He also owns the hottest nightclub back in LA."
"Sounds like a real snob."
"Oh not at all! He's very friendly. He even loaned me a tuxedo and guaranteed us the best seats in the place, followed by access to the VIP lounge."
Kara had to hand it to Barry. He'd certainly made some interesting friends since being hired at NCPD.
"Fine. I'll make sure I'm home in time to look nice enough to be on your arm." She said teasingly, causing Barry to pop one eye open.
"Are you kidding? I'm the nerd here. I'm pretty sure the people at this place are going to assume I paid you to just stand beside me." Barry said in a deadpan voice, causing her to laugh.
"Whatever, dork. We'll have a fun time." Kara said warmly, before nuzzling him gently with her head, before she dozed back off peacefully for a bit...
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NCPD, National City, 3 hours later …
Barry walked into work, eagerly sipping the coffee he'd bought on the way to work. He was performing a balancing act with the tray of labeled coffee cups he'd brought for his new coworkers, calmly dodging the various officers moving around the department as they went about their day. Eventually, he made his way into the area where detective desks were, where he spotted Dan and Chloe talking about something or another. Additionally, there was a child, who looked to be around 10 or 11, sitting at Chloe's desk. He calmly walked over to the two detectives, who paused their conversation when he walked up.
"Hey Detective Decker, Detective Espinoza. I brought coffee for your group, since you guys have been so friendly since I interviewed here." Barry said in a tired, but friendly manner. Both of the detectives looked grateful for the caffeinated beverage, taking the ones with their names on the side. He felt a tug on his jacket, prompting him to look down at the girl.
"Hi. I'm Trixie. Do you work with my mom and dad?" She asked curiously, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"I do, Trixie. It's nice to meet you. My name is Barry. And I'm one of the new CSIs they hired along with your parents."
"Like Dad's girlfriend Ella?" The innocent question caused Dan to choke a bit on his coffee, while Chloe chuckled lightly. Raising a brow at the child, Barry nodded.
"That's right. I help make sure there's enough evidence to help point your parent's in the right direction so they can catch the bad guys." He said with a smile.
Trixie's expression shifted into one of awe. "That's so cool!" She paused a moment. "Though, it's not as cool as Lucifer. He can actually make people tell their secrets." She then tried to make her voice deep. " He goes 'What is your desire' and then they tell him things."
Barry was about to ask what she meant by that, but he was cut off by the arrival and subsequent indignation of the eccentric consultant himself.
"While your assessment may be accurate, young gremlin, your impression of me needs quite a lot of practice. You failed to capture my charisma and winning smile." He stated dryly, before taking notice of Barry. "Ah! The esteemed Mr. Allen! So, tell me what the lucky lady said. Oh who am I kidding. She obviously said yes when you mentioned you'd be eating at the finest restaurant in the city." Despite the man's arrogance, Lucifer had a charm about him that you just had to love, prompting Barry to laugh at the man's antics.
"That's right, Mr. Morningstar. Kara said yes to go tonight!" Barry said excitedly to the department's resident billionaire.
"Ugh. You humans and your formalities! It's just Lucifer for my friends." He said smoothly, before blasting Barry with a charming smile. Barry had noticed Lucifer had some odd speech mannerisms, but mostly chalked it up to the man's eccentricities. "And just so you are aware, Barry, I will be personally playing the music tonight, so expect the ambiance to be perfect for your date."
"I really appreciate it, Lucifer. You're a good guy." Barry replied gratefully, before he remembered the coffee. He caught Lucifer's attention before he made his way over to Chloe. "Uh Lucifer? I actually brought coffee for you guys this morning. Here's yours. I tried to guess what you liked."
Lucifer raised a brow, before taking the cup with his name from Barry's tray, nodding gratefully as he did. He then took a tentative sip, before his expression took on a surprised and pleased quality. "French vanilla in espresso? Color me impressed, Mr. Allen. I knew you had to have refined tastes." The handsome dark haired man said appreciatively.
Barry's expression then turned sheepish. "I actually just noticed you weren't a morning person and I figured vanilla goes good in every type of coffee."
"Whatever the case, it is appreciated."
There was a small bout of silence, so Chloe chose this moment to jump into the conversation. "So Barry, thank you for the coffee. I am definitely low functioning without a nice cup of coffee." She said with a friendly smile on her usually stern face. Lucifer took that moment to gently poke her in the cheek, shifting Chloe's attention from Barry to Lucifer.
"Careful now, Detective. Keep that expression and your face may very well stay that way." He said teasingly, his eyes reflecting fondness and warmth that made Barry sure the man cared about Chloe deeply.
Chloe sighed at the teasing, before she placed a hand on Lucifer's face, before rubbing his cheek. "Oh yes, I'm sure you'd just hate if I smiled more." She stated with a raised brow, prompting the English man to become slightly flustered at the gesture.
Barry smiled at the interaction, before feeling another tug on his jacket. He glanced down to see Trixie once again.
"My parents may not be together anymore, but it's nice to see them happy again. Lucifer may say weird things but I like him. Same with Ms. Lopez." Barry had to give the young girl credit. She was very mature about the fact her parents weren't together anymore, and very well adjusted.
"I agree. I like it when people are happy, Trixie." He said with a smile before he checked his watch, noting he needed to get down to the labs. "Well Trixie, it was nice meeting you, but I've got to go make sure the bad guys get caught." He said with a conspiratory smile, though he doubted the duality of his statement was caught by the child. He made sure to grab Ella's coffee, before he leaving.
It took him all of thirty seconds to reach the CSI lab, without having to dodge any people rushing around the department. He took a small breath before he opened the lab door, when he was assailed with the sound of some old school style hip hop music and the sight of Ella bobbing to the music while she worked. Barry cleared his throat a bit, causing the smaller girl to jump a bit before she turned around to face him.
"Dude, you're as stealthy as that Batdude who lurks in Gotham." Ella said with a hand over her chest, trying to calm her heart rate down. Barry smiled apologetically, before holding up the cup of coffee as a peace offering, which she took gratefully. "Okay, you brought me coffee on our first day working together. You're officially my new work BFF."
Barry chuckled a bit, before he moved over to his work area, eager to get to work. He noted with some mild annoyance that he'd have to be careful with using his powers to make his job easier while he had a partner, though he noted with a bit of amusement that given the luck he'd had so far with protecting his identity, she'd probably find out eventually.
"Hey, work BFF! I hope you like hip hop because this girl likes to jam while she works." Ella shouted at him over the music, to which he just gave a thumbs up without turning around. "Oh, FYI, I already handled all the analysis we have at the moment. So feel free to just jam with me!"
Upon realizing he had nothing to do at the moment, Barry sat down in the chair by his station and began counting the minutes until he could pick Kara up for their date...
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CatCo offices, 4 hours later...
Kara was, as usual, running around the office to ensure Cat's day flowed as smoothly as possible. However, there was a distinct pep in her step that everyone in the office had noticed. Winn, James, and Adam stood by the office's break room, watching the Kryptonian while trying to figure out why she was so happy.
"I gotta say guys, this is the most cheerful I've seen her since she started dressing and acting differently." Winn said with a hint of confusion. While he and James knew this Kara was different, they had to keep up appearances.
James nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's kind of odd seeing her so...not grumpy. Almost like she's back to her old self." The best friend of Superman commented casually to the others.
Adam just glanced between the other two, before refocusing on Kara. "I get that she's acting happier, but is that really such a big deal?"
James and Winn shared a look, before James decided to answer. "Well, you probably wouldn't have noticed her before, but she's been acting and dressing differently since there was a death in her family. This perky, cheeriness is what she was like before that tragedy."
Adam nodded, but it was Winn who spoke next. "Argh! I can't take it anymore. I have to know why she's so abnormally happy. HEY KARA!"
The girl in question paused her work at the copy machine, before looking up to see the awkward but nice Winn Schott. "Yes, Winn? What do you need?"
"Well, I was just wondering what's got you in a good mood today." He then leaned in closer to whisper. "I swear if you were any more cheerful, you'd start floating around the office."
Kara's expression furrowed into confusion. "Have I? I guess I'm just excited for my date with Barry tonight." She said casually, before shrugging and resuming her work. Winn's jaw dropped. Sure, he wasn't as close to this Kara as he was the old one, but he was shocked she'd agreed to go on a date with anyone.
"You're going on a date?" He asked incredulously. He wasn't jealous of Barry. In fact, he was happy for both of his friends. It was just a really surprising turn of events. "I thought you found most of your would-be suitors to be an annoyance."
That got a snort from Kara, who brushed one of her multicolored locks out of her face.
"Oh, trust me. They still do, but Barry isn't a suitor. He's my best friend, and most importantly, one of the only men who's never treated me as a trophy, a weapon, or a prize to be won." Kara paused a moment. "Besides you. You have been a good friend to both Karas, Winn."
Winn smiled at his friend. "No offense, but you aren't my type and you sort of scare the hell out of me."
Kara laughed a bit, before grabbing the copies she'd made for Cat. She then ensured the stack was neat, before she began to head back to Cat's office.
"Thanks for that. It was nice talking like that, Winn. The little office chats were something Kara held dearly." She called back softly with a small smile, before she headed into Kat's office. Immediately, she was assailed by the voice of her boss.
"KEERA! Come here a moment!" Cat commanded, prompting Kara to look over at the most powerful woman in media. Kara complied, walking over to her boss, who shoved a photo in her face. "Look at this juicy photo. Notice anything in particular. Besides Supergirl's new outfit."
Kara glanced at the picture. It was of Barry in his Voidrunner outfit, standing beside herself whilst in her black Supergirl outfit. The black color was both her preference and the result of the anti-Newtonian material it was made out of using the same metal that made Barry's suit. He'd insisted, as a means to stop Kryptonite bullets in the future, should it become more commonplace. Naturally, she didn't voice any of that to Cat, and instead settled on a vague answer.
"I'm not sure, Ms. Grant." She answered convincingly, before continuing. "What should I be looking at?"
Cat Grant sighed, but pointed to a spot in the photo. Kara looked at the photo once again. She realized that she was holding Barry's hand in the picture, something she hadn't realized she'd done when this was taken, which was after they'd fought a weakling Fort Rozz escapee.
"You see that, Keera? I think our speedy friend and our hometown hero are romantically involved. Can you imagine it, Keera? A superhero power couple. We have to market this, if nothing else for revenue."
Kara raised a brow but nodded nonetheless. "Yes ma'am. I'll run this down to the writers immediately. It should be available for tomorrow's issue."
Cat nodded, before she paused what she was doing and looked Kara in the eye. "Keera. You asked to leave early for your date tonight, correct?" Kara nodded. "I'll allow it. On two conditions."
"What conditions are those, Ms. Grant?" Kara asked curiously, unsure of what her boss might ask.
Upon seeing a sly smile on her boss's face, Kara felt slightly apprehensive.
"First, you have a good time. Obviously he's gotta be interesting if you turned down all the guys around the office." Kara blinked owlishly, before nodding her head in acceptance. "And second? You tell me how the food is. I hear Eden is considered one of the best restaurants on this side of the country."
"Uh, sure thing, Ms. Grant." She replied nervously, now feeling a slight measure of pressure for the date to go well now that the intimidating woman had all but ordered her to have a good time.
"Now get out of here. After you run that photo down to the writing staff, of course."
Kara merely nodded before taking the photo and leaving Cat's office. One way or another, tonight was going to be an interesting experience.
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90 minutes later, National City, Restaurant Eden...
Kara had insisted on flying them to the restaurant, since neither of them had felt the need to invest in a car yet, though J'onn had assure them he could get them one easily via the DEO. Still, it provided an excuse for Kara to hold Barry, which was always a welcome experience. Both were dressed to kill, as the saying went. Kara was wearing a sleek blue dress, which was accented by her light blue lipstick and her smokey eyeshadow, complete with a pair of silver heels. Barry was outfitted in a slim fitting gray Armani suit, with a black button down, a dark red tie, and black dress shoes.
As she landed them into an alleyway across the street from Eden, he became to fake-swoon at her, hand on his forehead and all.
"Oh, Kara, you're my hero." Her blond companion said with a teasing grin, before offering his arm.
"Shut up, Barry, and walk us inside already. I'm starving." She grumbled without any real venom to her words, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. She took his arm gratefully, before he lead them over to the entrance to the high class restaurant, which was packed with people in expensive clothing.
"Ahh, I knew there was a reason you agreed to go out with a geek like me. For free food." He said jokingly, a warm smile on his lips as lead them to the maitre d'. "Hello, we have reservations under Allen."
Instantly, the man's eye widened, before nodding excitedly
"Ah! Mr. Allen. Mr. Morningstar said to offer you our finest table in the house for your very special evening. He also said he had a special surprise in store."
Kara raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. Probably because she was more focused on enjoying her evening with Barry. Nothing else mattered to the Kryptonian woman, so she just focused on laying her head on Barry's shoulder.
Barry, on the otherhand, smiled in a friendly manner at the man. "Really? I'll have to thank him tomorrow at work. He's a great man."
"That he is. Please, follow me." The host beckoned them to follow, before they entered the ornate entrance into Eden. Inside, the building was draped with immaculate marble interior, with vines and flowers covering the walls and columns to give the whole place an ancient paradise look to it. For lighting, it was almost entirely filled with candlelight, both on the tables and from the ceiling in ornate chandliers. The place was built so that it was set up in three layers. The outer layer was filled with tables and happy groups eating their fill together in merriment. In the middle layer, the tables were concentrated around a central opening from which ambient music was radiating. The innermost layer was where they were heading to, which had a few tables around a grand piano, and a small bar in the back of the room reserved specifically for the people in the VIP layer. As they walked to their table, which was a few feet away from the piano, Barry couldn't help but be impressed by the overall set up. He looked over at Kara who seemed to share his opinion, if the somewhat awed expression of her usually blank face was any indication. As they arrived at their seats, Barry pulled out Kara's chair for her, prompting her to roll her eyes and smile, before she took her seat. Upon taking his own seat, Barry saw Lucifer himself waltz from the bar over the piano, leading a woman in a sleek red dress who looked suspiciously like Detective Decker, and taking a seat behind the ivory keys. He kissed the hand of the woman sitting beside him, who leaned into him while he set to work on the keys, though not before sending a conspiratory wink at Barry. When the man began to play, the entire room was filled with the melodious piano music and Lucifer's pleasing singing voice.
As Barry began to browse the menu, he heard Kara chuckle. He looked up from the menu, to see her smiling radiantly at him.
"I have to give you this, Barry. You sure know how to plan a first date." She said happily, before sipping from her glass of water that had been placed in advance on the table. "So while dating wasn't really a thing on my Earth, I would like to uphold the customary inquiring about each other."
Barry couldn't help it. He started laughing good naturedly at her, prompting her to puff her cheeks out a bit.
"I'm sorry, that was just a really interesting way of saying we should have a good time." He then reached over, and took her hand, idly locking eyes with her in the candle light of the room. "You look amazing by the way. I know I've said it probably 12 times now, what with the 11 times on the way over here and the one just now."
She laughed, before resting her cheek in her other hand, before using her other hand to start rubbing circles on his hand. "You don't look so bad yourself, Barr. You keep cleaning up this good, and I may just have to keep you all to myself." She teased lightly with a smirk, before closing her eyes a moment to enjoy the moment.
After they placed their orders, they chatted about various things, and made plans for future dates as well as their hero work. However, their conversation was halted when a spotlight shined on their table and the clinging of a glass was heard.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to call a toast to my new friend Barry and his lovely date. Tonight is the first of many happy dates for them, and if the looks their giving each other are any indication, I feel confident in that statement." This got a round of laughs from the other patrons, while Barry just smiled sheepishly at Kara. She seemed to be getting a kick out of the attention. "As someone who has recently discovered the bliss of a caring partner, I can only wish you the best, my new and awkward friend. To Barry and Kara- hold your surprise, miss, he talks about you a lot at work." More laughs around the room and a blush for Barry. "As I said. To Karry!" Clinks were heard around the restaurant, including Barry and Kara's, before he got up and went over to Lucifer, and made to shake his hand. Lucifer had none of it, and instead pulled him into a hug.
"Come now, dear Barry. We're friends. And if my time around Ms. Lopez has shown me anything, it's the power of a hug between friends." Lucifer stated jovially, before glancing back at his own date. "Now, we shouldn't keep our lovely ladies waiting. Off you go!" He then playfully shooed Barry away, before wrapping an arm around Chloe, and leading her to the bar.
Barry made his way back to his table with Kara, before smiled semi-apologetically. "I'm sorry, I should have known this was a Faustian bargain." He said jokingly, not realizing how accurate that statement really was.
Kara shook her head, before smiling at him. "Not at all. I've thoroughly enjoyed this evening. And, as your esteemed friend said, I look forward to many more."
When Kara saw Barry's face light up, she knew that had been the right thing to say.
Xxxxxxx
Elsewhere, Same time...
Astra and Non stood facing a large group of Kryptonians. They stood in a nondescript location, though it was large enough to hold the group of superpowered aliens comfortably. Non cast his gaze across the group, before he glanced at Astra.
"Even if you're still injured from your encounter with that human, we still have enough of a force to strike a decisive blow. Now is the time for action, Astra."
Astra glanced pensively at both her husband and their 'army', before she sighed. "I suppose you're correct, Non. We must act before they whittle away anymore of our troops."
Non nodded, before he stepped forward to address the crowd.
"My fellow Kryptonians. Tomorrow, we claim this planet as our own!"
While the majority of the group cheered at the proclamation, Astra merely frowned, wondering once again if this was the right course of action. As her doubts ate away at her resolve, she could only hope her niece could forgive her eventually...
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To be continued...
Ahh, and now we are getting to the actiony bits. Once I wrap up Season 1 of Supergirl up, I can start experimenting. Don't get me wrong. The fluff will continue unabated, but there will be more to enjoy beyond tooth rotting adorableness.
As for why Lucifer is so chummy, it's a result of both finally being with Chloe without worry of interference, as well as her influence on him. He's still the Lucifer we all know and love, which will become apparent down the line. Don't you worry people :)
As always, take care peeps.
Raizen out.