A/N: Welcome to another chapter of SuperArrow! Thank you everyone once again for reading the last chapter and enjoying it. I'm so glad people are enjoying the story so far.
So in this chapter, Kara and Oliver are going to finally confront Ben, and I finally got to write some romance regarding the two. However, the next chapter will show the aftermath of their romantic feelings, and will prove that things aren't as simple as they seem.
Hope you enjoy and I'll try to update soon!
Earth-38
National City
The Lockdown Studios
When Oliver had suggested that he and Kara go down to the Lockwood Studios to get the scoop on what Lockwood was up to, Kara had admitted she was a bit skeptical with his plan. First of all, she couldn't fathom the thought of having to face a man whose views were completely different than hers, especially since she was one of those aliens that he wanted to get rid of so badly. Second of all, what if Ben Lockwood noticed that Kara looked similar to Supergirl? What if he figured out her secret and blew her cover to the entire world. She wasn't prepared for something like this, and if word ever got out that he was Supergirl, then everything would fall apart. She just didn't understand where Oliver got this sudden optimism from, and why he wanted to try to get information on Lockwood the old fashioned way.
Still, this had its perks, especially with Oliver wearing a suit and all. He was eye candy to Kara, even if he didn't know it...
Kara immediately realized she was thinking of Oliver in that way, which prompted her to mentally slap herself.
Relax Kara, she thought, Oliver is your friend. He's nothing more.
"So what's the cover story I'm going with?" Oliver asked, garnering Kara's attention.
"What?" Kara focused on Oliver once she realized she didn't hear his question.
"I'm a reporter, right?" Kara nodded her head once Oliver spoke. "So what's my cover story so that people don't suspect I'm some alien not from this earth?"
"Okay, your name is Oliver Queen, you work for the Daily Planet in Metropolis, and you wish that Superman and Lois Lane were never a thing," Kara replied.
"Why the last part?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.
"Because we're trying to have you connect with Lockwood," Kara said. "Lois Lane and Superman are human and alien. You have to convince them that it would never work."
"Does it work though?" Oliver couldn't help but become curious.
"With Lois and Superman, it works," Kara gave a brief smile. "They're a lovely couple."
"And since it works for them, do you think it could work for someone other than those two?" Oliver's question came out as if he was trying to hint something, causing Kara to wonder if Oliver was talking about them. It wasn't possible, right?
"I...I don't know," Kara shrugged her shoulders. "I mean it depends on the people. Um, why do you ask?"
"Oh, I was just curious," Oliver replied. Kara thought she would have been okay with Oliver's answer. Instead, she was a bit disappointed. "I mean, there aren't a lot of couples that are human and alien."
"That we know of," Kara cleared her throat to hide any disappointment that could have been evident. Before she went further, she noticed a massive SUV driving up to the reserved spot in the parking lot, causing everyone in the media to flock towards them. "Here he is. Follow my lead."
"You're the expert," Oliver obliged, causing Kara to blush slightly. Kara and Oliver made their way to the media scrum and kept their eyes on Lockwood. Once he had settled, he was ready to take questions, and Kara knew she had to be prepared.
"Okay, does anyone have anything to ask me?" Ben stared at the sea of reporters. "I have a lot to do before today's show."
"I have a couple questions," Kara spoke loudly to garner his attention.
"Ask away," Ben said.
"Kara Danvers, reporter for CatCo Worldwide Media," Kara introduced herself before continuing. "I'm a little curious on your stance against aliens."
"That's not a question," Ben tersely replied.
"I was getting to that," Kara tried to sound as polite as she could. "Anyway, you had Lex Luthor on your show and the both of you agreed that Supergirl was the reason all of the aliens are dying. Why do you feel that way when all she's trying to do is save people?"
"Supergirl thinks she's saving people," Ben scoffed. "In reality, she is destroying the lives of hard working Americans. She got the Alien Amnesty Act passed, and it protects aliens, beings that don't belong here. Us humans have been around far longer, and we're losing everything to these aliens. Jobs, money, security, the dream. They should not be able to leave where they are from and steal from hardworking people like you and me. For all we know, Supergirl could be one of those aliens that is working under an alias. She's stealing a job from a human that has lived here all her life."
"If they are here, they deserve the right to work for their living," Kara argued. "Would you rather they collect a check from the city because people won't allow them to live an honest life?"
"That isn't my concern," Ben replied. "They're not from here, Ms. Danvers. They're all a travesty. And they have to go."
"Even if that means killing them?" Kara gritted her teeth, no longer able to keep her composure. "You condone that the Children of Liberty kill every alien they come in contact with simply because they don't belong here?"
"They're cleaning the Earth of alien scum," Ben smirked.
"They're killing innocent lives," Kara countered."They're promoting hate, and I don't see how any person can agree that killing them is the way to go. What the Children of Liberty are doing is illegal."
"It may be so," Ben kept his eyes on Kara and all Kara could see was hated in his eyes. "But it's doing a hell of a lot of good. And soon every single alien will be wiped off this planet. Even your precious Supergirl that your magazine loves so much." Ben focused his attention to the other members of the media, all while trying to once again keep his composure. "Does anyone else have any questions for me?" Kara turned around and pushed herself past the media scrum, with Oliver following behind.
"That was the most intense media scrum I've ever seen," Oliver tried to lighten the mood, but he could tell it wasn't working.
"Oliver, I know Lockwood is involved someway, somehow with the Children of Liberty," Kara sounded shaken. "I can't prove it, but I sure as hell am going to try. I need to get this guy out of power so he can stop polluting everyone's minds."
"How do you plan on doing that?" Oliver questioned.
"I don't know," Kara sighed. "But we need to find some proof. I think we should go back to the D.E.O and try to find some more information on him. Something must have happened to make him hate aliens so much." Oliver nodded his head as Kara turned around. Oliver knew that Kara wanted to do this the right way, but he knew guys like Lockwood. He was going to have a squeaky clean record and find ways to frame other people for his crimes and actions. He couldn't stand there and watch Kara find out the hard way. He knew how to get him to talk. But he needed to sneak away from Kara for a bit.
"Kara, do you think the library might have more backstory on Lockwood? I mean with this T.V. show he has, he's a public figure. Which means there has to be something on him." Oliver pondered. Kara stopped in her tracks and glanced at him, thinking that what he said made complete sense.
"You know, that's not a bad idea," Kara replied. "We should check to see if there's anything that comes up on him at the library."
"Okay, so, hear me out here," Oliver said. "How about you go back to the D.E.O and look up information there while I head to the library and let you know what I can find. Four eyes are better than two, you know." Kara thought about his reasoning before ultimately nodding her head.
"Okay, sounds good," Kara said. "Do you need help finding the library?"
"No, I'll find my way around," Oliver answered.
"Okay, I'll see you back at the D.E.O," Kara replied, turning away and walking off. Once Kara was out of view, Oliver turned and saw Lockwood heading into the studio. He grabbed the emerald mask that was in his pocket and glanced down at it. If he was going to find out anything on Lockwood, he was going to have to force it out of him.
Earth-1
Central City
S.T.A.R. Labs
Barry spent the last hour or so glued to the computer as he tried to find out why Kara had needed Oliver's help. Not only was he doing this for Felicity, who was worried about Oliver's well being, but he was doing it because Oliver and Kara were his best friends. Why did Kara go to Oliver when Barry was capable of helping her himself? Barry didn't want to say that he was a little hurt, but he wished that he was Kara's first choice. As Barry continued typing on the computer, Felicity slowly entered the room, holding a cup of coffee and handing it to Barry.
"Thanks," Barry briefly looked up from the screen to grab the coffee from her. "I needed this."
"Don't we all," Felicity replied. "So, did you find out why Kara went to Oliver?"
"Not yet," Barry turned back to the computer. "This computer shows everything that's going on in the multiverse. If there was a threat, this would have pinged. But so far on Earth-38, I don't see anything, which makes this more puzzling."
"I don't understand what Oliver is doing then," Felicity sighed. Suddenly, she had a thought, but she wondered if it sounded asinine. "I wonder…"
"What?" Barry suddenly became interested. He noticed Felicity hesitated for a moment, and he was wondering if he wanted to know what she was thinking. "Felicity, spit it out."
"Okay, hear me out and don't freak out," Felicity started to say. "What if Oliver went with Kara...because they're seeing each other?"
"We've established Oliver is with Kara, Felicity," Barry sighed. Felicity realized Barry didn't understand where she was coming from.
"No, not like that," Felicity backtracked for a moment. "What if Oliver and Kara...are dating?" Barry stared at Felicity with interest for a few moments. Suddenly, he started to laugh, almost as if Felicity had told a joke.
"Oliver and Kara dating?" Barry got out in between his chuckles. "Felicity, that's ridiculous."
"Is it really that ridiculous to think?" Felicity furrowed her eyebrows.
"Yes," Barry responded. "For one thing, Oliver would have told me if he was into Kara. He and I share absolutely everything."
"Oh, so you and Oliver have weekly meetings where you sip coffee and gossip about everyone?" Felicity jested.
"You should try it sometime," Barry seriously replied. "But as for Oliver being into Kara, there's no way possible. He's been too hung up on you since you both broke up last year."
"I mean he did seem upset that I was going out last night," Felicity reasoned.
"He also likes fighting crime on Friday's," Barry added. "Almost like he was trying to make himself busy."
"Yeah, Oliver always likes to appear busy," Felicity suddenly realized her theory didn't sound far fetched. "So why would he drop everything for Kara?" Barry didn't want to think that Felicity was right, but he realized that it was a possibility.
"Oh no, we have to go to Earth-38 before Oliver and Kara make a mistake," Barry got up from his chair.
"Why are you so eager to stop him?" Felicity pondered.
"Because Oliver, Kara and I have a great working relationship," Barry replied. "If they date, realize they're too different and break up then that working relationship doesn't work anymore because they're going to want to kill each other. I need my superfriends to be my superfriends without the romance involved. We have to snap Oliver out of it."
"We?" Felicity looked around, wondering who else Barry was referring to.
"I'm going to Earth-38," Barry reiterated. "You're coming with me."
"Why am I going with you?" Felicity asked.
"You're not the least bit interested in finding out why Oliver has feelings for Kara?" Barry pondered. "It just seems out of nowhere, and the whole him being upset with you dating could just be an act to keep you off his scent. He is the Green Arrow after all."
"You're right," Felicity agreed with Barry's reasoning. "So, how do we get there?"
"Cisco made me an extrapolator so I can travel across the multiverse," Barry explained. "We can use that to go to National City."
"Okay, let's do it," Felicity sighed. "Let's go find Oliver."
"Sweet," Barry grabbed the extrapolator on the nearby table and pressed a button to open the portal. He just hoped he wasn't too late in trying to save Oliver and Kara from themselves.
Earth-38
National City
The Lockdown Studio's
Ben Lockwood exited the studios that evening after wrapping up what he considered another successful show. Even though he was buzzing over his show, what he was most proud of was standing up to Kara regarding what he believed were her asinine policies. Of course aliens were the scum of the Earth, so he didn't see why she was so intent on trying to save them. If anything, her hopes were just going to be a lost cause. Ben continued walking to his car but there was something off about his trek. For one thing, he felt that there was someone following him. He turned around and didn't see anyone behind him, making him believe that he was possibly being paranoid.
But when Ben turned around, he realized there was standing in front of him. A man donned in emerald green with arrows appeared ready to challenge him, and Ben had to admit he was a little curious.
He's scared, Oliver thought to himself as he studied the slight fear in Ben's eyes. Good, I got him right where I want him.
"Who are you?" Ben couldn't help but ask.
"You don't need to know. But I know more about you. Ben Lockwood, what do you know about the Children of Liberty?" Oliver gruffly asked.
"I don't know anything about them," Ben argued, but he didn't expect Oliver to immediately draw an arrow and point it towards his head. "What the hell are you doing?"
"SHUT. UP." Oliver shouted. "I ask the questions, do you understand me?!"
"I'm not telling anyone anything," Ben argued. "Especially to someone who is five months early for St. Patrick's Day."
"You seem to underestimate the fact that I am holding a weapon at your head," Oliver argued. "Which means I will shoot you if you don't tell me what I want to know."
"If you shoot me, then I'll die, and any information that I know will go to the grave with me," Ben snickered. "So you're not going to do anything. Besides, if you wanted to shoot me, you would have done so already."
"You don't know anything about me," Oliver felt the anger boil in his blood as he noticed Ben was becoming more cocky. "I may not shoot you, but I will make your life extremely difficult. Especially if you don't leave Supergirl alone."
"Oh, so you're one of Supergirl's friends?" Ben smirked. "Interesting."
"So what if I am?" Oliver countered.
"I don't think you understand the position you're putting yourself in," Ben challenged Oliver. "I'm going to give you a chance to take your emerald self down the yellow brick road and head back to Kansas. Stop butting yourself into my matters with Supergirl. Or things will end terribly for the both of you."
"I'm not easily threatened," Oliver countered. "If you want Supergirl or any other alien, you're going to have to go through me first. And I always put up a fight."
"That's good to know," Ben smirked as he walked around Oliver and headed to his car. Oliver didn't turn around, but he heard Ben driving away, and inside Oliver knew that cracking Ben was going to be harder than he thought. Oliver dropped the arrow that was in his hand on the floor, almost as if he was defeated. One thing was certain though; he knew if Kara found out he had tried to threaten Ben, it wouldn't end well for him.
Earth-38
National City
The D.E.O.
While Oliver failed at getting answers from Ben, Kara looked through multiple records hoping that she could find something to use against him. Kara was so busy looking through records that she didn't notice Alex standing behind her with worry. Kara didn't look up from the papers, but she knew she had to talk to Alex sooner or later.
"I heard the media scrum didn't go well," Alex sounded saddened as Kara turned around. "Lockwood basically had an answer for everything."
"I know that I wanted to look him in the eye as Kara Danvers the reporter, but he just had an answer for everything," Kara sighed. "And after that, I had less hope than before."
"It didn't help that Oliver was with you?" Alex asked.
"I guess he did," Kara walked towards Alex while adjusting her cape. "But, even then I just felt completely alone. At the end of the day, Oliver isn't an alien. So it's easy for him to give me pep talks."
"At least he's there giving you pep talks when you need them," Alex reasoned. "It seems against his nature to be that soft, but he's that open with you."
"I know," Kara acknowledged. "I know the Oliver I'm seeing is different than the Oliver everyone else is used to. He made me coffee, did my crossword puzzle, cleaned coffee off my lip, and reminded me that I'm special."
"Which is why you need to stop fighting what you're feeling on all accounts," Alex reminded her. "You're fighting the anger you're feeling regarding Lockwood...and you're fighting your romantic feelings for Oliver. It's okay to like him, Kara. I'm sure that he feels the same way that you do."
"Okay, you want to hear the God's honest truth?" Kara snapped. "Fine, I have romantic feelings for Oliver, okay? But I can't get involved with him no matter what. At the end of the day, he's human and I'm an alien. It would never work, especially with what Lockwood is doing by exterminating all of the aliens."
"Kara," Alex walked closer to her sister and put her hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure this is just about Lockwood?"
"I'm sure," Kara insisted.
"Really? Cause the vibe I'm getting is that it has to do more with Mon-El," Alex noticed Kara slightly looking away at the mention of Mon-El. "You're scared things aren't going to work out with anyone else, especially since you gave so much of yourself to him. I know it hurt that he came back and was married, but you can't shut yourself out from love. You deserve it out of all people."
"When Maggie comes back after you thought she was dead and you find out she's married, then you can tell me what to do with my love life," Kara crossed her arms. "Until then, I'll let my heart heal by keeping myself busy with the Lockwood case. After Oliver finishes helping me, he's going back to Earth-1 and we won't see each other until next year at the earliest." Alex knew it was no use so she decided to change the subject.
"Okay, well did you find anything about Lockwood?" Alex pondered.
"I did," Kara nodded her head. "He used to be a history professor at National City University. No word on why he was fired from his job and how he became an anti-alien activist."
"Does this sound like you're going to do a little more digging?" Alex asked.
"Definitely," Kara sighed. Before Alex could go further, J'onn entered the room and the look on his face made Kara wonder if something was wrong." J'onn what's going on?"
"There's something you need to see, Kara," J'onn said, prompting Kara to appear muddled. "It has to do with Oliver."
"Oliver?" Kara widened her eyes. "Is he okay?"
"He confronted Ben Lockwood," J'onn answered. Kara didn't understand what J'onn was saying, but she hoped that Oliver wasn't hurt.
"Why would he confront Ben Lockwood?" Kara asked. "He said he was going to the library to get more information."
"He tried to get information, but it wasn't at the library," J'onn revealed. "He tried to hold an arrow to Lockwood's head, and Lockwood is having a heyday."
"What's he saying?" Alex crossed her arms.
"I could tell you, but I think it would be better if I showed you," J'onn motioned for Kara and Alex to follow him. The two of them reached a T.V. monitor and stared up, with Kara appearing concerned.
"I told you Supergirl was dangerous," Ben stood in front of a podium while a media scrum tried to get him to answer questions on his recent encounter with the Green Arrow. "Now she has friends who are threatening humans too. If she can influence humans to threaten their own kind, then who knows what else she could do. Supergirl is dangerous, which means she must be destroyed. As far as I'm concerned, Supergirl is Public Enemy #1…,"
Kara felt blood boil through her body as she saw Ben talk about her in a dangerous light, but all she could focus on was finding Oliver. She needed to know why he did what he did.
"Where's Oliver now?" Kara asked.
"I'm assuming he's back at your loft," Alex answered. With that revelation, Kara zoomed out of the D.E.O., and went straight for her loft to confront Oliver.
Earth-38
National City
Kara's Loft
Oliver stared at the television as guilt formed on his face, realizing that in his attempt to help Kara, he had made things exponentially worse. He knew that she had probably found out the news by now, and he was sure she was going to come to confront him. As he continued watching T.V., Kara zoomed into the window in her superhero outfit, with Oliver knowing she was about to blow a gasket.
"What the hell were you thinking, Oliver?!" Kara shouted as she pointed towards the T.V. "I brought you here because I needed your help. I didn't bring you here to cause more trouble for me."
"Kara, I know you're mad and I'm really sorry," Oliver got up from the couch with an attempt to calm her down.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Kara pointed a finger at him. "You were supposed to help me and now Supergirl is Public Enemy #1. Is this what you do? You make things worse before you make things better?"
"Actually, that's Barry's job," Oliver admitted, prompting Kara to let out an exasperated groan.
"Don't! You don't...you don't get to be cute right now!" Kara argued. "Green Arrow is supposed to be a symbol of hope despite his dark demeanor. He doesn't go around threatening to shoot people in the head because he wants to get information. I know you were trying to help, but Lockwood is dangerous. He's ruthless, he's catastrophic...and because he's all of those things, I'm lost. I don't need more alien blood on my hands because you want to go around doing things the Star City way."
"I know, I screwed up," Oliver got up from the sofa and walked over to her, seeing that her anger was diminishing as she stared into his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Kara. You brought me here because you wanted me to help you. And you're right, you deserve to expect better from me. I handled things the wrong way, but you have to understand, I can't let him hurt you. Seeing you as upset as you are about what he's doing really upsets me. I want to help you, and you know that, right?"
"So far you've been helpful," Kara admitted. "But I didn't need you to confront him that way. It gave him more ammo."
"It did, and I'm going to work twice as hard to fix what I did," Oliver promised. "I'm not going home until I fix the problem. No matter how long it takes. Okay?" Kara relented at Oliver's apology, especially since she knew his heart was in the right place.
"Okay," Kara whispered while making her way to the couch. She sat down and motioned for Oliver to join her, with him slowly obliging. "Truth be told, I am glad you're here. I don't think I can go through what Lockwood is putting me through alone."
"I'm glad I'm here too," Oliver honestly replied. He grabbed both of Kara's hands and held them, which made her heart go soft. "And I'm not letting you go through this alone. I know what it's like to be abandoned when you need people the most."
"I know you do, Oliver," Kara nodded her head slowly. She thought back on her conversation with Alex back at the D.E.O., and she realized she was guarding her heart because of everything around her. Oliver was willing to do anything and everything to help her, and there was some part of her that wanted to give into him. Oliver wasn't Mon-El. He wasn't going to leave her at the drop of a hat and Kara needed to remind herself that. With everything Oliver had been through, he deserved that same promise as well. She intended to be there thick and thin, even if things got hard for the both of them."Well don't worry, because even if you screw up, you're still going to have me. I promise."
"Good," Oliver could barely get the words out, mainly because Kara had moved closer to his face. She looked at his lips before leaning in, ultimately crashing her lips onto his. Oliver was surprised at first but he quickly responded, placing his hands on Kara's cheeks to deepen the kiss. Kara felt the kiss turn feverish, causing her to grab Oliver's shirt and pull it off over his head. Their lips parted for a second as Oliver's shirt came off, but as soon as Kara threw it on the floor, she reattached their lips, a moan escaping her lips.
"Oliver," Kara's breath hitched, with their lips still connected. Oliver picked Kara up and carried her towards the bed, with clothes shedding off and the two of them becoming one in the heat of the moment.