A/N: I know, I know it's been a long while since I updated this story, but unfortunately life got in the way again. However, I recently inspired to finish this chapter since I had the first half of it already written from awhile ago. I promise I'll try to do better with updating, but here's the latest chapter where Oliver, Kara and Barry do more digging, and we sort of find out what Lex Luthor plans to do with Red Daughter.
So without further ado, Enjoy!
Earth-38
National City
Kara's Loft
That evening, Kara wrapped the blanket around her body as she sat on the couch, glancing at the T.V. report that was talking about the recent alien that passed away. Kara didn't know why she was torturing herself over the death of the alien, maybe it was because it was another life that was gone. Or the fact she wasn't able to save her due to her own weakness being was so busy with the television channel, that she didn't hear Oliver come in from the kitchen. He had decided that he was going to try to cook for the both of them in lieu of going out since he figured Kara wasn't in the date mood. He couldn't help but feel sad for Kara, but he hoped that what he was going to do would make her feel better.
"Dinner's on the table," Oliver spoke up, prompting Kara to turn around with sadness.
"I'm not really in the mood to eat," Kara muttered. "I just have a lot on my mind."
"Kara Danvers turning down food?" Oliver widened his eyes with surprise. "That's a first. Besides, I really put a lot of work into it. It's not everyday that Green Arrow cooks dinner."
"Wait, you cooked?" Kara pondered, looking over her shoulder. Oliver walked over and coaxed Kara off the couch, leading her to the table. "What do you have here?"
"Well for dinner, I have a couple of your favorite things," Oliver smirked. "I looked online and found a recipe for potstickers, and for dessert I went to the donut shop down the street that you like so much and got you some of those fancy donuts."
"You...you made me potstickers and bought me fancy donuts?" Kara glanced at Oliver and tucked a piece of hair behind her ears. "That's...the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."
"I mean I'm not expecting them to taste like a restaurant, but…," Oliver stammered before Kara grinned at him.
"Ollie," Kara whispered, which caught his attention. "This is amazing, and I can't wait to try one of your amazing potstickers." Kara grabbed one and placed one in her mouth, savoring the taste. "Oh my god, these are the best things I ever tasted. Even better than where Alex buys them."
"I'm glad you like them," Oliver grinned. Kara tip-toed and pressed a kiss to his cheek, with Oliver glancing at her with adornment. "Maybe I should cook for you more often."
"Oh, yes, please cook for me more often," Kara purred as she pressed her lips to his.
"You know, I also know how to make a mean chocolate cake," Oliver barely removed his lips from Kara's as he glanced into her eyes.
"Oh, you do now?" Kara smiled.
"I do," Oliver chuckled, placing his lips on hers again. The door knocked as Kara parted her lips from Oliver's, prompting the two to stare at each other with interest. "Who could that be?" Kara walked to the front door and opened it, finding Barry on the other side while holding a file. "Barry, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you about the Children of Liberty case," Barry cleared his throat as he motioned towards Kara's loft. "May I come in?"
"Sure," Kara nodded her head while Barry entered. However, Barry wasn't expecting Oliver to be in the kitchen, which caused him to do a double take.
"Oliver?" Barry innocently blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"I...I was making dinner," Oliver cleared his throat.
"Since when do you make dinner?" Barry questioned. "And why are there only two plates here?"
"Because I was making it for Kara," Oliver said. "She hadn't eaten and I thought she could have used a meal, especially after what happened at the park today." Barry didn't say anything as Kara entered the kitchen, putting her hand on her hip and glancing at Barry with interest.
"What's going on?" Kara asked.
"Um, I was looking over files on the Children of Liberty case, and I had a theory. I wasn't sure if it sounded stupid, so I came here to see what a fresh set of ears thought. Judging from Oliver also being here, I got two sets," Barry cleared his throat at the mention of Oliver before he continued. "An organization like this is likely to have a hideout, right? I mean, even superheroes have a hideout. You have the D.E.O., I have S.T.A.R Labs, and Oliver has the bunker. These guys have to have somewhere that they hide too."
"You're right," Kara innocently blinked. "They have to have somewhere that they like to hide out."
"The question is, where?" Barry crossed his arms.
"I have an idea where," Oliver spoke up. "Remember how we've been trying to connect Lockwood to the Children of Liberty? What if the hideout is somewhere in the T.V. studio Lockwood works?"
"That's a great idea, Oliver," Kara couldn't help but smile. "If we can find that hideout, then we can connect Lockwood and finally put him behind bars."
"All right, then it's settled," Oliver clapped his hands together. "Once it's past midnight, we'll go to the T.V. studio and start looking."
"Why after midnight?" Barry raised an eyebrow.
"Because nothing good happens after midnight, Oliver walked past Barry to grab his emerald mask from the kitchen counter. "Which means they're going to be out and about."
Earth-38
National City
The Lockwood Studios
Kara, Oliver and Barry stood on the roof of the television studios as their superhero personas while they waited for someone suspicious to come by. However, while Kara and Oliver were busy keeping a lookout, Barry was more busy studying Oliver. He kept his eyes on Oliver before Oliver noticed Barry watching him, prompting Barry to look elsewhere.
"Barry, do you see anything suspicious?" Oliver wondered.
"A little bit," Barry questioned, with Oliver raising an eyebrow in return.
"You see a Child of Liberty?" Kara couldn't help but ask.
"No, not yet," Oliver answered for Barry. "Kara, why don't you secure the perimeter? Barry and I can watch from up here."
"Okay," Kara started floating to the sky.
"Kara?" Oliver's voice caught Kara's attention as she stared down at him. "Be careful, okay?"
"I will," Kara promised before flying off. Oliver stared at Kara in awe for a moment but he was taken out of his thoughts when Barry cleared his throat.
"So when were you going to tell me?" Barry questioned, noticing Oliver had turned around and gave Barry a muddled expression.
"Tell you what?" Oliver wondered.
"About you and…," Barry motioned for the sky signaling that he was talking about Kara.
"Does it really matter when it happened?" Oliver shrugged his shoulders.
"Actually, it does," Barry said. "Dude, do you have any idea what you're doing? You doing this is going to mess with the entire fabric of what we stand for."
"What do you mean by that?" Oliver furrowed his eyebrows.
"It's tough enough being superheroes and vigilantes," Barry said. "Especially when feelings for the people we care about become involved. I feel like that with Iris all the time. She can get into danger because of my line of work. The same could happen to Kara. Kara is in danger the more you want to pursue this romance thing."
"She's not in any danger," Oliver started to explain.
"Kara is pure, and good. She saves the world with hope and optimism. You my friend, you're dark and twisty..and it doesn't matter if you don a green suit and a bow and arrow, at the end of the day you're...Oliver," Barry pointed at him. "You're human. Kara is not. So if you die, it's going to be from something that doesn't affect her, and she's going to have to deal with the pain of your loss for the rest of her life. We all are. So, you need to stop pursuing this. You need to back off. I'm telling you this because I care."
"Barry, why is it that when you do something, everyone is so happy for you, but when I do something that's for me, for once, I end up hearing your mouth?" Oliver argued. "I want to be happy, and I'm finally feeling what that's like for once. I'm aware Kara is a superhero, and she's an alien, but when I look at her, that doesn't matter to me. I see a person with feelings when I stare at her. She's just like you and me, and so is every alien out there. I want to see this through, and I'm going to see this through whether I have your approval or not. I just thought that we were close to the point that you wouldn't judge my decisions and be happy for me. " Barry furrowed his eyebrows at Oliver as Kara flew down, but Kara could sense the tension between them.
"So there's no sign of any of the Children of Liberty," Kara brought up but she could still see Barry and Oliver's icy expression. "Is...everything okay here?" Barry and Oliver stared at each other before giving Kara a nod of their heads, but Kara could sense something was off.
"Everything's good," Oliver told her.
"Yeah, we were just talking," Barry added. He cleared his throat and motioned towards the other end of the roof. "I'm going to check to see what's going on over there. Maybe this Lockwood guy is coming or not." Barry sped past Kara and Oliver to the other side of the large television studio roof, leaving Kara and Oliver standing there with concern.
"Is everything okay between you and Barry?" Kara asked.
"Why wouldn't there be?" Oliver wondered.
"For one thing, I could hear everything you guys were talking about," Kara gave a nervous glance. "I have super hearing, remember? Barry...he isn't happy for you...which means he isn't happy for me."
"No, it's not that," Oliver tried to soften the blow. "Barry is just worried. He's going to get over it at some point."
"But you are happy, right?" Kara innocently blinked as Oliver smiled at her.
"I'm very happy, Kara," Oliver said. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here."
"Hey, I gotta make sure," Kara couldn't help but chuckle. Oliver was about to speak until he noticed Barry zooming back towards them. Barry didn't give Oliver any eye contact and instead focused on Kara.
"I spotted Lockwood entering the studio." Barry said. "The problem is, he isn't alone. He hyped up security."
"Okay, what's the plan to confront him? With security around, there's no way they're going to even let us touch Lockwood," Kara crossed her arms while glancing at both Barry and Oliver.
"Don't worry, I have experience with that," Oliver gave a coy smile while taking a bow and arrow out from his holster. Oliver aimed the bow and arrow towards one of the cameras, closing one of his eyes for precision before letting go of the arrow. The arrow ended up taking out a couple security cameras, causing the mangled electronics to hit the floor of the parking lot. Oliver continued taking out the cameras as Kara watched in awe, all while Barry crossed his arms and studied the situation. After the last camera was taken out, Oliver pretended to blow out smoke from the arrow, causing Kara to clap her hands with a small smile. "And we should be good to go."
"What would we do without you?" Kara beamed as Oliver felt his cheeks turn a crimson red. But Barry wasn't amused. Instead, he just wanted to get this over with so that they could stop Ben Lockwood once and for all.
"Yes, Oliver made things go boom with his arrows," Barry sighed. "Can we please go in there now?"
"Yes, yes we can," Oliver and Kara stared to make their way off the roof as Barry furrowed his eyebrows, trying his hardest not to get caught up in Oliver and Kara's budding relationship. He was still apprehensive about it, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about it. All he knew was that it had to end before he and Oliver went back to Earth-1. "Barry! Come on!"
"Coming!" Barry yelled after Oliver, zipping quickly to one of the side doors that Oliver and Kara were standing in front of. "So how long do we have before they decide to come after us?"
"A couple minutes, give or take," Kara shrugged her shoulders. "That gives us enough time to go inside and see just what they're doing." Oliver opened the door as the three superheroes gingerly walked into a darkened hallway. It looked like a regular television studio, which made Barry wonder if he was wrong to suggest that it was a hideout. "I don't see anything out of the ordinary."
"Neither do I," Oliver added, while Barry let out an exasperated sigh. "The question is where did Lockwood go?"
"I don't know," Barry leaned against the wall, but he was surprised when the wall clicked and opened up. Barry had to catch his balance, but Oliver and Kara walked closer to see what was behind the wall disguised door. "Okay, so that happened."
"A secret door," Oliver smirked. "I should have thought of that considering I need a literal elevator to get to the bunker."
"Should we go down there?" Kara pondered.
"I mean we got this far, right?" Barry wondered. "Let's see if Lockwood is down there."
"And if he's not, then let's see what's down there," Oliver added, the three of them slowly going down the stairs. Once they reached the bottom, they noticed it was pitch black, which made it hard for the superheroes to investigate just what was in the dark room. Fortunately, Kara noticed there was a string with a lightbulb, prompting her to reach up and tug at it. The lightbulb suddenly illuminated the room, and Kara's worst fears were realized when she noticed what was in front of her. On a gigantic whiteboard were pictures of her and other aliens. Aliens that were alive, and so far pictures of the aliens that were dead. On another side of the whiteboard, there were plots on how they were going to continue eradicating them from this earth, and there were notes on what Kara's weakness was as Supergirl. Listed was kryptonite, but there was also a question mark underneath it. Lockwood knew there was something else that made Supergirl weak, but at that moment Kara had no idea what it could have been. The scene before her made Kara uncomfortable, especially since she had to rethink about the aliens that already lost their lives due to the Children of Liberty.
"What the hell is all this?" Kara said slightly above a whisper as she walked closer to the white board with the pictures.
"This is disturbing," Barry added.
"No, this isn't disturbing," Kara shook her head with anger. "This is terrorism. Aliens just want to live along with humans and Lockwood's plan is to just get rid of them?" Oliver knew that it was hard for Kara to process all of this information, and he wanted to comfort her in that moment. But he also was heeding Barry's words from before, which made him a little tentative.
"Do you think we should tell the D.E.O. what we found?" Barry wondered.
"I think that would be in our best interest," Oliver agreed, his eyes still studying Kara as she felt discouraged. Barry grabbed his cell phone and took a picture of the board before putting it away and motioning for Oliver and Kara to follow him.
"We can tell the D.E.O. in the morning," Barry said. "But for now, let's just get out of here."
"Kara, come on," Oliver slowly walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, all while instructing her that it was time for them to leave before Lockwood found them. As he was trying to get Kara to leave, he noticed a picture on the floor that caught his eye, and he wanted to investigate. "Barry, can you take Kara please? I'll meet you guys there in a second."
"Okay," Barry agreed, walking over to Kara and slowly leading her away from the board. As Kara and Barry made their way upstairs, Oliver walked over to the picture and bent down, picking it up and seeing that it was a girl that looked exactly like Kara, but yet at the same time wasn't. Oliver studied the photo for a few moments before placing the photo in his pocket, ultimately heading back up the stairs and closing the door behind him.
But still, Oliver's curiosity piqued him as he wondered who the girl in the photo was, and what was Lockwood planning on doing with her.
Earth-38
National City
Kara's Loft
The sun trickled through the window of Kara's loft the next morning as Oliver tried to catch up on some much needed rest after their nightly excursion. But he was finding it hard to do so when he thought about the girl that was in the photo. He wanted to tell Kara about his findings, but he knew that she was still reeling from the unwanted discovery she made the night before. After realizing he wasn't going to get much sleep, Oliver kicked the blankets off and got up from the bed. He was surprised that Kara was nowhere to be seen, which prompted him to look throughout the house for her. He found Kara sitting in the living room as she curled herself up in a ball in the corner of the couch, with nothing but silence surrounding them.
"Couldn't sleep?" Oliver finally spoke, causing Kara to look at him.
"Oliver," Kara sounded surprised as she held the blankets close to her. "I thought you would have been sleeping still."
"It's kind of hard when you're still sitting in the living room," Oliver sat down on the couch next to her, trying to find the words to say. Finally, he realized maybe he shouldn't have been the one to do the talking, especially since Kara was most likely feeling a surplus of emotions. "Do you want to talk about last night?" Kara considered bottling up her feelings like she was used to, but for some reason, she felt like she could tell Oliver absolutely anything.
"I don't know how to feel," Kara shrugged her shoulders. "On one hand, I want to be able to help everyone, but how can I when I currently have a body count because Lockwood knows I'm weak to kryptonite? How am I supposed to help people when right now I'm the one feeling helpless?"
"Come here," Oliver motioned as he held his arms out for Kara. She went into his arms as he hugged her tightly, Kara leaning her head on Oliver's shoulder. "Those aliens dying is not on you. That's all on Lockwood and Lex Luthor. We are going to stop them before they hurt another alien, and we're going to make sure that Lockwood is taken down once and for all. I also want you to know that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Neither would your sister or Barry or Felicity or J'onn. You have a good support system and we're here to help you in any way we can, okay?" Kara looked up at him and couldn't help but give him a small smile. She honestly believed in that moment with Oliver that everything was going to work out for the better, and that she was going to stop Lockwood before anything else happened.
"Okay," Kara agreed while Oliver pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Kara let out a sigh as she took the blanket off her, almost getting up from the couch. "Well, we should go and tell Alex and J'onn what we found out at the D.E.O."
"We should, but I also think you're forgetting something," Oliver smirked, Kara cocking her head to wonder what he meant. Before she could ask, Oliver leaned in and kissed her passionately, causing Kara to smile against his lips and deepen the kiss. After a few moments, they parted and stared at each other with a loving expression, one that made Kara feel safe and secure.
"You just wanted me to kiss you, didn't you?" Kara teased.
"Yeah, pretty much," Oliver gave her another chaste kiss before motioning towards the bathroom. "Go get ready. I'll make you coffee and we'll pick up donuts for breakfast." Kara obliged as she got up from the sofa and made her way to the bathroom, but as soon as Kara was gone, Oliver went into his pocket and stared intently at the photo, trying to figure out who this girl was. He didn't want to tell Kara yet, in fear that she would be even more freaked out, but he knew he had to talk to someone about it.
And he knew exactly who to tell.
Earth-38
National City
The D.E.O
"Wait, you mean to tell me that Lockwood has a bunker where he has elaborate plots on how to kill all of the aliens?" Alex traversed her arms as Kara, Oliver and Barry told her their findings from the night before. "And he's working with Lex Luthor?"
"It's all extremely detailed," Barry replied. "Not to mention he has a death chart where he places the pictures of dead aliens on the board. It's almost like he's doing this for sport."
"He's working with Lex Luthor to get kryptonite, but I don't understand the connection," Kara shrugged her shoulders. "What does Lex have that could be useful to Lockwood?"
"I don't know but we're going to have to use all of our resources to figure out how," J'onn got all of their attention as he overheard their conversation. "So I suggest we start digging."
"Would the picture be enough to get Lockwood behind bars though?" Oliver wondered. "I mean it's clear cut he has something to do with it since it was found in his television studio."
"Lockwood is a powerful man, Oliver," Alex sighed. "A simple photo isn't going to do the trick especially since there's no way to tie Lockwood to the photo. We'll figure out something else." Oliver knew that Alex was right, and that was when he noticed everyone dispersing to continue on with their findings.
"I'm gonna take an aerial view of the city," Kara mentioned to Oliver while walking backwards. "Plus it will be good for me to get some air."
"Are you sure?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Kara nodded her head. She sensed hesitancy in Oliver's voice, in which she gave him a smile in return. "I'll be okay. I promise."
"Okay, just be careful," Oliver told her.
"Always am," Kara gave him a warm grin before turning on her heels and heading towards the window so she could fly out. As soon as Kara was gone, Oliver walked towards Alex, especially since he wanted to figure out more about the girl in the picture.
"Alex, hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Oliver questioned.
"Sure, what's up?" Alex asked, Oliver clearing his throat and taking the photo out of his pocket. "What's this?"
"When we were in Lockwood's bunker last night, I found something," Oliver handed Alex the photo as Alex hesitantly took it, finally looking down and seeing the girl that shared a similar resemblance to Kara. "I think this is what is tying Lockwood and Lex Luthor together."
"Who is she?" Alex wondered.
"I don't know, but it can't be a coincidence that she looks just like Kara," Oliver said. "The frustrating part is we don't know anything about her."
"No, we don't," Alex agreed, her eyes never leaving the photo. Eventually she folded the picture and placed it in her pocket, her eyes meeting Oliver's. "But we are going to find out who she is and what game Luthor and Lockwood are playing. I just need you to do one thing for me."
"And that is?" Oliver almost seemed as if he was scared to ask. Finally, Alex took a deep breath, taking one more step towards Oliver and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"We don't tell Kara about this," Alex said. "I hate keeping secrets from her but she clearly has a lot on her mind. And we don't want to worry her anymore than she already is. In the meantime, my guys and I will find out who she is and we'll go from there. Can you promise me you won't tell Kara, Oliver?" Oliver hesitated for a few moments, wondering if he should have agreed before ultimately nodding his head slowly.
"Okay," Oliver said. "I won't tell her."
"Great," Alex nodded her head before heading off to show her team the photo so they could track down who the girl is. But in that moment, Oliver wondered if he was doing the right thing in keeping something so important from Kara. He just hoped that it wasn't going to come and bite him or anyone else in the ass later.
Earth-38
National City
Luthor Corp
Red Daughter sat in one of the chairs of the empty offices as she glanced around at her surroundings, waiting for Lex to return with her mission. The trip from Russia had been a long one, one that she wasn't used to. But she was willing to do anything to help the man that had basically saved her and prevented her from sudden death. As she waited for Lex to return, she looked around the office, her eyes suddenly glancing at a picture that had Lex, his sister Lena, and his mother Lillian. She took the frame in her hands and intently stared at it, her thumb circling over the three figures in the photo. The one thing Red Daughter longed for was a family, especially since her own family was killed when she was only nine-years-old. Still, Lex seemed to have been the closest person she had to a family, at least that's what she assumed in her mind. She heard the door open to the room as she quickly put the frame back on the shelf, straightening up and seeing Lex come in with what looked to be a box that was wrapped in a bow.
"Red Daughter, I have a present for you," Lex placed the box in front of her as Red Daughter struggled with what to do with it.
"A present? For me?" Red Daughter seemed apprehensive. "What's the occasion?"
"No occasion at all, my dear," Lex placed his hands up as if he was trying to assure her there was no catch. "Just that it's one step closer to you completing your mission." Red Daughter pulled at the red ribbon and untied the bow before grabbing the top of the box and pulling it open. As she peered inside, she saw an outfit that had the "S" insignia, one that Red Daughter thought looked vastly familiar. It was an exact replica of Supergirl's outfit, down to the "S" that was plastered on the chest. Red Daughter had to wonder what it was for, especially since she wasn't used to wearing lots of blue with a gigantic red cape.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Red Daughter pulled the outfit out of the box, her eyes shifting from the costume to Lex Luthor.
"I want you to put it on," Lex Luthor stated, giving Red Daughter an ominous look. "Because after you put it on, your mission…is to kill an alien."