Supergirl addressed reporters at a table featuring her corner composed of Mon, impersonating Superman, and a suited Brainiac 5 unit. Another Brainiac 5 unit impersonated Kara Danvers as a reporter in front of the camera. "Today may have proved to be a landmark in sports history after unraveling years of red tape...a Kryptononian will now throw her hat into the ring of women's boxing," Kara Danvers reported.
"I've come to compete as an intergalactic sportswoman and ambassador of goodwill," Supergirl said to the reporters.
"Why not compete in the alien's division?" a reporter asked.
"I identify as a human woman from the time I arrived on this planet. Since I was a teenager, I have felt a deep-seated desire to look, dress, and act like a woman. It hasn't been an easy road for me, but it has been life-fulfilling," Kara said.
"Will you be taking any medications or treatments to transition yourself to a human?" one reporter asked.
"I have completed my transition, thank you very much," Kara said smugly. "If anyone refers to me as an alien or anything but a woman, I'll sue the shit out of you."
"Have you ever boxed a real professional?" a reporter asked playing along.
"No, but I am certain I will be qualified for it," Kara smirked confidently. "No woman can match my strength, my endurance, my aggressiveness. I am indestructible. Whatever I hit, is destroyed."
"Can Supergirl, the Girl of Steel, wreak havoc among women's sports?" Kara Danvers asked rhetorically to the camera.
At the MCPD gym, Maggie Sawyer worked her boxing moves with a fellow male officer. As they did a sparing practice, the other officers stared at the TV and saw the breaking news of Supergirl's announcement. "I'll be damned," she muttered.
"Why don't you fight her?" her partner teased.
"To prove what? She'll fucking kill me out there," Maggie replied.
"She's going to make women look bad. How can you like that?" he asked.
"I don't have to like it. Fighting Supergirl is...suicide," she said dismissively.
"I don't know, Sawyer. You're a warrior. I think you could last at least a round," her naive partner smiled.
Lena Luthor and James Olsen then entered the gym with the police chief with them. "Long time, no see," Maggie said dryly to them both.
"What Supergirl is doing to women's sports is fucked up. If female aliens and human women are allowed to compete, it will be unfair and dangerous. We have to prove to the public that aliens belong in their own weight-class," Lena said super-serious.
"Yeah, what she said," James seconded.
"What are you proposing? That I go twelve rounds with the Girl of Steel? You must hate me more than my dad," Maggie crossed her arms at them.
"We have a plan to bring pride to women's sports while making a ridiculous amount of money," Lena smiled.
"I'm not even a licensed boxer," Maggie pointed out.
"It will be an exhibition match, and we can take care of the details," James assured her implying insane amounts of corruption.
"Let's talk privately," Maggie allowed.
Supergirl and Maggie were brought onstage on a long table in front of the reporters. Maggie gave an irked look at Kara Danvers sitting among the reporters. "Is this decision final?" Kara Danvers asked.
"Yes," Maggie said glumly.
"The current women's boxing champion, the women's MMA champion, and all the gold-medal-winning woman boxers have all turned this match down. What makes you think you can compete against Supergirl?" one reporter asked.
"I know Supergirl's fighting style intimately," Maggie replied.
"I know that wasn't supposed to sound sexual, but...," Kara joked along with the rest of the crowd.
"It actually was meant to be sexual, because I'm a Lesbian," Maggie shut her down.
"Doesn't your life mean anything to you anymore?" one reporter asked rudely.
"Not as much as protecting women's sports from people that don't belong in women's sports," Maggie said crossly.
"Knowing your punching power, do you still think this will be an easy fight?" a reporter asked Kara.
"Yes, of course," Kara chuckled. "I am the most perfectly trained athlete in the universe. This woman doesn't have the strength, the power, or the genetics to win. It's impossible for this little lady to win. The fact is, evolutionary genetics has allowed Kryptonians to absorb sunlight and convert it into physical power. I am the future of women's sports. After boxing, I'll dominate every other sport there is."
"Doesn't that give weight to the notion you shouldn't compete in women's sports?" one reporter asked boldly.
"No, because all that is required to be a human female is the belief that you are," Kara said smugly. "And belief in yourself and who you are trumps all considerations, pun intended."
"How much money are you making on this fight?" a reporter asked.
"Nothing," Maggie said flatly. "It's not about money."
"Where?" a reporter asked.
"Atlantic City," Maggie rolled her eyes.
"Let me just say this: You have this belief that born women are better than us, and we are so very bad. It's all lies and false propaganda. To say otherwise is to commit violence upon trans-humanists. She thinks she stands for something. I stand for every alien on this planet that identifies as human and desires to be treated as such in this human society," Kara said passionately.
"You are so full of shit," Maggie shot back.
Kara, Maggie, and everyone in the room was in an uproar as everyone stormed out.
In preparation for the fight, Maggie took a leave of absence from the police department and trained all day with Lena and James. She went through a montage of exercises and box sparring. Lena would help her out with the physical training while James would spar with her in the ring. At one point, Alex came in looking awkward. Maggie stopped what she was doing to talk with her.
"Why did you do it?" Alex asked.
"I got to do what I got to do," Maggie said simply.
"You don't have to do anything. The fate of womankind isn't on your shoulders," Alex told her.
"It has to be on someone's shoulders," Maggie said stubbornly.
"Don't do this. I know you're hurting. I am, too. A lot of people are hurting, right now," Alex said to her.
"A lot of people don't have a choice as I do," Maggie pointed out.
"You ready to lose everything, Maggie? She blames you for turning me gay and liberal. She blames you for why our relationship is not as good as it should be. She blames everything on you. You fight with her in that ring, she'll fucking kill you," Alex told her.
"I don't care. I'm a fighter. This is who I am. This is who you almost married," she said bitterly.
"Maggie, it's suicide. You can't win!" Alex shouted at her.
"Every day I'm on the streets, someone could shoot or stab me from out of nowhere. It comes with the job every day. A lot of my friends are dead. At least, there will be meaning in this one," Maggie said to her.
"If that's your decision...I'll be on your side," Alex said seriously.
Maggie gave her a grateful hug. "Thank you."
In Lena's lab, Maggie went through rigorous training where machines monitored and forced her muscles to contract. Maggie was pushed to her physical limits as she ran, lifted weights, did calf exercises, pull-ups, and boxing sparing matches with James. At the same time, Lena closely monitored Maggie's diet and sleep routine. Finally, a visitor showed up in the gym lab.
"I...missed you," Oscar Rodas said softly.
Maggie simply stared at her father speechless. "I missed you," she whispered back.
The two came closer to each other as Lena, Alex, and James backed off. "I'm really proud of what you've accomplished, what you're willing to do, and what you're going to do. I'm here to help any way I can," he said sincerely.
"Okay," Maggie nodded and gave her father a hug.
Feeling even more inspired by her father's support, Maggie got better-and-better with her sparring forcing James to take a breather. Maggie punched harder-and-harder on the punching machine. "How's that?" Maggie asked.
"It would knock me out," Lena said dryly.
On the treadmill, Maggie kept up with the high speed. Lena slowly elevated the incline of the treadmill. Maggie kept it up, crying out in an effort as her legs burned. Finally, Maggie reached the limit of the treadmill and pulled the safety string.
Meanwhile, Kelly came to meet with Kara at a coffee shop. "So, how does it feel to have your girlfriend and her ex..." Kara began. She paused for dramatic effect. "...working together again?"
"I know you're saying that to get under my skin, but I am perfectly confident in my relationship with Alex," Kelly replied
"Oh really, that's interesting," Kara said sarcastically.
"Just like how Mon handles being around James," Kelly pointed out.
Kara gave her a suspicious look secretly believing that Mon and James were more than just "friends." "So, what's the topic of discussion?"
"So, what's your big plan? You going to throw the match?" Kelly asked.
"Err...no. I'm going to destroy that bitch. I have you all to thank for that. It was a dream come true when Maggie threw her hat into the ring. I couldn't have done it without all of you encouraging her," Kara said coldly.
"But...this is all a ruse, right?" Kelly asked confused.
"My only goal in all of this was to get Maggie in the ring," Kara smirked. "In a few short weeks, a lot of my psychological baggage is going to evaporate."
"You're really going to kill her in the ring?" Kelly asked shocked and appalled.
"Well, who knows? Barney taught me this technique where if you punch someone the right way, they won't even remember their name...permanently. You see, Maggie fucked me over. She turned Alex gay, liberal, and put her in dangerous situations. I had to work hard behind the scenes to get rid of her but she keeps popping back up in Alex's life. This time will be the end. I'm actually doing you a favor, Kelly," Kara said nonchalantly.
"How's that?" Kelly wondered.
"By eliminating Maggie for good, you'll have peace of mind. It's like killing two birds with one stone," Kara said.
"The public will not stand for this. They'll want your head," Kelly warned.
"Nah, more like chewed out. I've been chewed out before," Kara said unconcernedly. "You see, when the chips are down, these humans will always look to me as their hero and savior."
At Atlantic City, it was a full house with elites and celebrities. Lena, Lex, and Oscar were seated in the front row. Inside the arena, Maggie underwent prep on her hands for her match. Kelly took Alex aside. "You have to stop her from doing this. She's going to get herself killed."
"I am so proud of you for not being the jealous type. It's one of your best qualities," Alex complimented.
"I'm serious. She goes out there, she's dead," Kelly warned.
"Look, Kara would never kill someone in cold blood in front of the whole world," Alex said.
"Alex, are you listening to yourself? Of course, she would," Kelly said obviously.
"Maggie just needs to get this out of her system and represent. So what if she gets knocked out in the first round? It's all about rep-pre-sen-tat-tion," Alex said.
"Kara blames Maggie for everything. She'll punch her head off," Kelly said seriously.
Alex looked around not sure what to believe. "There's some kind of scheme going on that Maggie and I are not aware of. We just have to go with the flow to figure it out. I don't think Kara will kill Maggie because she'll lose me if she does."
"I hope you're right," Kelly shook her head.
Maggie came out in simple black shorts and a black sports bra. Her hair was on a tight bun. The crowd got to their feet and cheered her on. Maggie raised her gloved fist in appreciation for their support. Alex and James escorted Maggie to the ring. Maggie entered the ring and did some practice punches in the air. As Kara came out, the Superman theme was played. She was wearing red shorts and a white sports-bra with the House of El crest on it. The crowd booed her hard as she approached the ring. Kara took it in strides and ignored the hostile crowd. Entering the ring, she merely smirked at Maggie's attempt to pump herself up.
"It's unbelievable. I've never seen such a hostile crowd," the commentator noted.
The two came together with the referee. "You know the rules," the referee said to them both. "Don't kill her," he directed Kara. "If I think you're getting your ass kicked, I'm calling the fight," he said to Maggie. "Alright, gloves up."
"It's a true case of David and Goliath. The condition of both women is unbelievable," the commentator remarked.
Kara and Maggie put their gloves out. Kara slammed Maggie's gloves down in an act of intimidation. "I must break you," Kara said to her.
Maggie gave no reply and went back to her corner. "You got this," James assured Maggie.
Upon the bell ding, both went at each other in the center of the ring. Kara jabbed at Maggie's head with her left three times in a row while keeping her right hand cocked. She then unleashed her right hand to Maggie's face stunning her and forcing her into a corner.
"Get out of there!" James warned Maggie.
Kara smacked her good to the head with a left and then hit her to the side hard with her right. As Maggie twisted her body to defend herself, Kara hit her to the left and right sides repeatedly. Kara gave her an uppercut to the chin, a hit to the head, and another hit to the gut with her left in quick succession. Kara treated Maggie as a punching bag with her right and left a few times and then Maggie finally threw a punch missing. Kara and Maggie traded blocks and then Maggie escaped the corner.
"Brace yourself!" James told her.
Kara returned to the center of the ring and punched Maggie to the head with her left a few more times. Maggie's punches all missed as Kara moved out of the way. Kara punched Maggie repeatedly with left and right punches until Maggie pushed Kara across the ring against the ropes, got inside, and punched Kara as hard and as fast as she could to Kara's midsection. Kara threw Maggie off of her and merely smirked. She mockingly gestured for Maggie to try again.
"Sawyer is pounding away at the midsection of Supergirl. She hit her with everything she's got and Supergirl just smiled at her," the commentator said amazed.
Maggie cautiously came forward and punched Kara several times to the midsection more. "Keep chopping away!" James encouraged her.
Kara eventually pushed Maggie into the corner and punched her hard. Maggie tried to punch back but missed completely. Kara punched her back several times in a row to the head with combinations. Kara placed her left glove on Maggie to keep her steady and then punched her hard with her right. After several hits to the head, Maggie became unbalanced and nearly went down. Kara viciously punched her hard to the head sending her to the canvas.
"Sawyer is in serious trouble! They might have to stop this one before somebody gets killed," the commentator said alarmed.
Kara backed off as the referee counted Maggie down. A dazed Maggie got back to her feet just in time. Kara went after Maggie with a vengeance, forcing her into a corner and punching her midsection. Kara didn't let up, keeping Maggie in that corner, smacking her around. "Break her rhythm!" James shouted.
Maggie escaped the corner only to be punched into a new corner. Kara kept at it with head and body shots. Maggie eventually pushed Kara away only to be thrown back into the corner. The bell then rang with Maggie visibly bleeding from her right eyebrow.
"Sawyer's hurt. She woke the sleeping giant. Now she's paying the price," the commentator said pessimistically.
Kara mocked Maggie as she went back to her corner. "Supergirl just threw Sawyer into her own corner like a rag doll. A tough first three minutes for Sawyer. She's fighting what appears to be an invincible opponent," the commentator said. The crowd booed Kara's win of the first round.
"What's happening out there?" James asked Maggie as she sat down.
"She's winning," Maggie noted.
"No shit. Take her heart. If you hurt her, you'll take her heart," Alex advised.
"There's the bell for round two. It's been a one-sided fight so far. It will take more than luck for Sawyer to survive this round. Sawyer's been hit with bombs," the commentator said as the bell rang.
Kara playfully gave Maggie several left jabs to the head as she circled the ring. "Stay with her!" James told Maggie. Finally, Kara hit her hard with a right hook. Maggie swung and missed. Kara got Maggie on the ropes. Maggie charged Kara pushing her across the ring. Kara threw Maggie off her to the canvas. Maggie quickly got up only to be punched down again. Maggie got back up and nodded to the referee.
Kara punished Maggie with left and right hooks. "She's getting killed out there," Alex said concernedly.
Kara kept it up punching Maggie repeatedly in a corner. All of her frustrations with Maggie were coming out all at once. Finally, Maggie punched Kara to the face giving her a nasty cut. Shocked and stunned, Kara backed away feeling her own blood on her face. "Supergirl is cut!" the commentator said excitedly. "It's a bad cut."
"What the fuck?" Kara wondered completely distracted.
Maggie took the advantage, scoring powerful punches on Kara as she touched her wound with her right glove while defending with her left. The crowd was on their feet as Kara was being pummelled. The bell then rang giving Kara some relief.
"Sawyer may be on the receiving end so far, but she's here to fight. This is shaping up to be a personal war. Right now, it's anybody's boxing match," the commentator said at the end of the round.
"You're doing good. I couldn't do better myself," Alex said adoringly.
"Now she's worried. You cut her. You hurt her! Do you see? She's not an alien! She's a woman," James told her.
"Isn't that what we've been arguing against this whole time?" Alex asked confused.
"Honestly, I don't really give a shit about the whole women's sports issue," James admitted.
"You bastard," Alex scolded.
"No pain," Maggie said as she got back up.
In the other corner, Kara's wound had already healed. She washed away the blood from her face. "It's not Kryptonite. I feel just fine. When I punch her, it's like punching iron," Kara said to Mon.
"End it this round," Mon encouraged her.
"This place is ready to explode. Lethal punch after punch! Amazing willpower! Neither woman backing off. The crowd is actively rooting for the underdog, Maggie Sawyer," the commentator said.
"Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!" the crowd cheered for her.
Kara faced the hostile crowd. "I fight for me! Do you hear that? I fight for me!"
This earned her more boos from the crowd. The aliens in the crowd, already a minority, started to cheer for Maggie's determination. "There's no stopping us now. This is our round. No stopping now! You start, and you don't stop! All your strength! All your power! All your love! Everything you've got!" Alex told Maggie.
A pissed-off Kara came to the center of the ring upon hearing the bell. Kara cautiously approached Maggie and gave her some left jabs. Maggie kept her arms down not even bothering to block. Kara eyed the crowd and then punched Maggie to the face a few more times. Maggie continued to keep her arms down. Kara punched her a few more times and pushed her against the ropes. Kara continued to cautiously punch Maggie until Maggie swung back hitting Kara hard to the face. The crowd went wild as Maggie punched Kara into the ropes and didn't let up. Kara counterattacked, pushing Maggie into a corner and smacking her around. Maggie pushed Kara away and the two traded blows in the center of the ring.
Kara hit Maggie twice as many times but each of Maggie's punches caused Kara pain. The crowd cheered "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie" as they fought. Kara was pushed against the ropes as she was hit hard several times to the midsection and then to the head.
"You're going to do it!" Oscar said, tears in his eyes.
Maggie and Kara continued to hit hard at each other with both bleeding and bruised. Kara's injuries suddenly healed. "Let's see you fight me at one percent," she glared at Maggie. What followed could only be described as a massacre as Kara beat the shit out of Maggie punching her hard to the midsection and face in quick succession. To the horror of the crowd, Kara's punches were as loud as gunshots. After several shots to the head, Maggie was barely standing, a bloody mess. Alex suddenly threw in the towel ending the fight. Maggie then collapsed to the canvas beaten.
The crowd was stunned by the sudden change in Kara's strength. "I cannot be defeated," Kara said as she took the mic. She eyed the fallen Maggie on the canvas being treated by James and Alex. "If she dies...she dies," she said coldly.
Kara then turned to the crowd. "I am...whatever I say I am. If not, then why would I say I am?" she said to them. "Anyone that challenges my claim will end up like her," Kara pointed her glove to Maggie still on the canvas. "Reality is whatever the strong, the zealous, the majority say it is. Reality is now...on my side," she said and then dropped the mic.
The crowd booed Kara as she nonchalantly walked off out of the arena.
Soon thereafter at the Daily Planet, Kara eyed the news reports showing support for banning female aliens from women's sports was now at all-time highs. Professional, College, Olympic, and high school sports were taking note and changing their policies. Congressional hearings were being conducted on the matter. Kara smiled amused, her intended purpose all along. Maggie entered the Daily Planet and sat down across from Kara looking perfectly healed from the fight.
"Thanks for what you've done. I didn't know what your true intentions were, but I should have trusted you," Maggie admitted.
"Well...no shit," Kara agreed.
"It was nice to get out of the station and work out for a month. You made me a celebrity. The woman that managed to cut Supergirl," Maggie said amused.
"I saw it a little differently," Kara said smartly.
"You know, Alex didn't know it was all a big scam. She really did think I was fighting with you out there. It was nice to feel her love and concern one last time. And my dad is actually proud of me now," Maggie said gratefully.
"Maggie...I still hate you...but I've always respected you," Kara said sincerely. "You agreed to this fight not knowing I was going to switch you out with Barney at the last moment. I'm proud of you and not in a gay way."
Maggie shook her head dismayed. "Alright, I better leave before you find more ways to piss me off. See you around, Danvers," she said and then left the office.
Author's Notes: This season is going to give me some space for social commentary on various issues. The trans-athlete issue is creating odd coalitions of people on both sides. Some may obviously see this as one giant strawman, which it could be. For me, the character growth and revelations are more important than the issue itself. The issue is just an excuse to get those character moments out there. This chapter could be seen as preachy but it's also contradictory and ridiculous. For some, Kara was is right even if she goes about it in a dishonest way. For others, she's just totally wrong and mischaracterizing a complex issue. I don't write Kara to be perfectly articulate and morally correct. She's right, she's wrong, she's right on accident, wrong on purpose, it's up to the reader to decide.