Authors Notes: We're still alive! There is a great deal of singing to be done in this chapter. You have been warned.
THE PRESENT…
"A red-head Wally West?" Barry asked, frowning. He blinked rapidly several times, reaching up to rub his head.
"I… I feel like that isn't as surprising to me as it should be…" He muttered. The others ignored him as Cisco launched into an explanation of Caitlin going full Killer Frost, then leaving STAR to find her parents and learn more about her powers. Barry, Cisco and Harry had left Earth 1 with red-head Wally to team up with a bunch of other incarnations of the Flash – including Jay Garrick – to hunt down a Speedster serial killer called Savitar. Leaving August, Joe's son Wally, Jessie and the team to watch over Central City. The multiverse travelling trio had met someone called Gypsy, several other versions of Harrison Wells, and finally ended up in Gorilla City, where they had to actually team up with Gorilla Grodd. That was a funny story. Meanwhile, in Central City, August and Meena had a fight when a new group calling itself 'Black Hole' emerged, ultimately resulting in Meena's death. August, blaming himself, had then used his powers to very violently arrest the Black Hole members, killing several in the process until Wally and Jesse were able to take him down.
"When Barry came back…" Cisco said, "Well, you were not happy." Barry's expression had turned dark.
"No. I don't imagine I was."
The table went very quiet, until, finally Dig began speaking.
"Well, not much to say on our side. Timeline looks pretty clean. Prometheus starts being a pain in the ass. Um… Evelyn doesn't turn evil. Not sure why she'd do that… Oh and evil Earth-2 Laurel still happens. So yeah."
The group turned towards Alex, who'd been staring into her glass of water.
"Oh!" she said, noticing the attention. "Us. What's… Oh! Mxyzptlk! Love him." Kara let out a long-suffering groan.
"Skip! Please!"
Barry leaned forward, suddenly intrigued.
"Nope. I want to hear this. What's a Mxy… whatever?"
Alex cracked her fingers. "Boy do I have a story for you!"
SUPERGIRL: S2EP13 – MR. & MRS MXYZPTLK
January 2017
"Look Mon-El," Kara said gently as the Daxamite stood in her apartment, a bouquet of roses in his hand, "I… I'm sorry, but I can't." Mon-El sighed, looking down at the flowers.
"Did I get the wrong flowers? I went to five different flower shops to make sure I got the right ones…"
"No… no, it's not the roses. I have a boyfriend Mon."
Mon-El scoffed. "Barry Allen? The Flash guy who's been missing for two months now and didn't tell anyone where he was going?"
"He told me where he was going," Kara said firmly, not appreciating his tone. "And that irrelevant. He's a superhero. He has responsibilities. And for him, that means protecting not only Earth but the entire Multiverse. If he has to disappear, I respect that, just like I know that if I had to go into space, he'd respect my choice."
Mon-El waved it off. "Okay. Fine. But don't you deserve someone who can be with you all the time. Who can fight beside you and…" He trailed off, seeing the look on her face. He drooped, throwing the flowers onto the counter.
"I'll just leave." He made his way towards the door, but Kara grabbed his hand.
"Mon… we're… we're just too different. Can't you see that?"
"Maybe we are," he said, looking her in the eye, "But I was willing to try."
"And I appreciate that. I really do. But I think the problem is… Mon, you're in love with Supergirl; with the brave heroine who'll stop at nothing to save people."
"Exactly," he said, throwing his free-hand up into the air, "How could you not fall in love with someone like that?"
"You can't just love Supergirl, Mon. You have to love insecure, vulnerable, resolute Kara Danvers too. That's me. As much as Supergirl is. Every time I've tried to open myself up to you, you've either laughed it off or misunderstood what I was trying to say." She took a deep breath, then released his hand.
"Barry understands that. So yes, I chose him. And now I ask you to respect that." A wave of hurt rolled across his face, then he turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Kara groaned, head-spinning, and turned towards the fridge. Time to break out that Rum…
"Oh, bravo, darling!" A voice exclaimed, and Kara spun towards her living room to find a man with slicked-back black hair leaning against her wall in a striking black suit. "I mean, I've seen rejections before, but that one was particularly exquisite."
"Who the hell are you?!" Was her apartment becoming STAR fricken Labs? She really needed to get new keys made. Maybe get Cisco to install a security system… Maybe get the DEO to install a security system. Yes, that seemed a much better idea. Sorry, Cisco.
The man rushed forward, a mischievous grin on his face that Kara definitely didn't like.
"Now that he's out of the way, it's time to set the mood!" He spun around, snapping his fingers, and a string chorus appeared in a flash of blue smoke, blocking the door. He snapped his fingers again, and Kara's dining table, as well as the countertop, were immediately covered in white table clothes, food piled atop them.
"What?" Kara exclaimed, stepping back and staring around the room in absolute shock.
"Mood set, catering done… What am I missing? Of course!" He snapped his fingers once more, and Kara's casual clothes were transformed into a gorgeous ball-gown of pure white. Her hair had been perfectly curled and blown out, and a layer of make-up settled on her face.
"Holy Rao," she breathed, stepping backwards in the heels that she now wore. The man dropped to one knee in front of her, and Kara pinched herself on the arm to ensure she wasn't dreaming. She wasn't.
"Kara Zor El, my name is Mr Mxyzptlk, and I've been watching you and loving you from afar. And now I finally have the opportunity to show you my eternal love! Will you make me the happiest Imp in the Multiverse, and be my bride?" He held up a gorgeous diamond ring, and Kara's mind blanked. Her mouth fell open, and, to her eternal shame, she spoke her first curse.
"What the fuck is happening!?"
"Hold up. A magic imp from the fifth dimension put you into Vera Wang in the middle of your apartment, and asked you to marry him?"
"It was very flustering!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"It's not funny, Barry!"
"Was he hot?"
"No!
"YES!"
"Did you at least bang him then? Seriously, all-powerful cosmic being? I'd tap that. Always up for new experiences."
"Oh, Rao I can't believe you just said that."
"Oh, you better believe it. You're talking to the girl who once seduced the Queen of France while we were on a mission."
"You seduced the Queen of France?
"Technically, she seduced me."
"Now. Here's my favourite part," Alex continued eagerly, "the Parade."
"Oh, Rao not the… wait the parade?"
One day, three rejections and a team meeting about Imps where Mon-El tried to convince her to kill someone later, and Kara was happy to be responding to something as routine as an Elephant running down main street.
She should have known her life would never be that easy.
She arrived on the scene, to find the street had somehow been vacated of cars. Police barricades had been set up, boxing the poor creature in, and… the elephant had a rider.
Mxy spotted Kara and waved to her.
"Supergirl my love!" he announced, and Kara just groaned.
"Um, you know this guy Supergirl?" Maggie asked from the ground beneath her.
"He's kind of stalking me," she admitted.
"Well, I guess some things never change," Maggie noted dryly as the cops around her laughed.
"Mxyzptlk, please put the Elephant back where you found it," she begged.
"Okay!" he called back, and Kara blinked. That was easy. "Once my epic plan is done! I saw this in a movie!"
"Oh no," Kara whispered. Mxy snapped his fingers, and a giant portal opened up in the middle of the street. Then a parade of men riding horses and camels began marching out to the beat of drums.
"Oh, he didn't…"
"Yes. He really did."
"Oh, wow."
The ground around Kara, Maggie and police officers came to life, soaring up into the air and transforming into a perfect rendition of one of the minarets atop her Uncle Jor's summer home. Her suit vanished, replaced by a Kryptonian shall, and she face planted into the ground.
"Ow."
Maggie helped her up, face bright red with laughter.
"Call Alex," Kara pleaded, and Maggie did so.
"Make way, for Prince Mxy!"
Crowds started pooling out of the nearby buildings, stopping on the sidewalks to stare in awe at the procession, which was only growing larger. Mxy turned his elephant around and took up centre stage, then he led the parade towards her 'tower'. Kara really hoped those backup dancers were just an illusion. The Legion was going to be so pissed if he'd actually stolen them from history.
A parade float materialised from blue smoke ahead of the elephant and the dancers. Another version of Mxy appeared atop it, and he threw his arms out wide and actually began to sing.
"Hey! Clear the way in the old Bazaar
Hey you!
Let us through!
It's a bright new star!
Oh, Come!
Be the first on your block to meet his eye!"
Kara tried to jump into the sky, intending to go and put a stop to this. Then realised her powers were gone. Great. Just great.
"Make way!
Here he comes!
Ring bells! Bang the drums!
Are you gonna love this guy!"
"Prince Mxy! Fabulous he!
Mxyzptlk!
Genuflect, show some respect
Down on one knee!"
Maggie finally reached Alex and Kara tore her eyes away from Mxy's advancing procession.
"Hi, honey. Yes, I'm with Supergirl. Yes, there is a parade of elephants and camels marching downtown. That's great." She hung up, and Maggie turned back to Kara as Mxy continued to sing.
"She's on her way. Not sure what's she's going to do but…"
"I wish I had a stalker that good," one of the cops, a woman with short-cropped red hair, muttered.
"Prince Mxy!
Mighty is he!
Mxyzptlk!
Strong as ten regular men, definitely!
He faced the galloping hordes
A hundred bad guys with swords
Who sent those goons to their lords?
Why, Prince Mxy!"
Now it was Kara's phone that rang. She looked down at it, somehow just knowing who the caller was going to be. Several news crews had arrived down below.
"Hi Miss Grant," Kara said meekly into the phone. Their tower magically grew wheels and began to roll ahead as the procession continued further down the street. More people were still pouring out of the portal.
"Kiera. I do hope there's a perfectly good explanation for why someone is impersonating Robin Williams in the middle of my city?"
Kara grimaced.
"No… I… I really don't have a good explanation at all Miss Grant…" Mxy popped into existence beside them.
"Are you enjoying the show, my love?"
"GAH!" Kara jumped backwards, dropping the phone as the police drew their weapons. Mxy vanished them and caught the phone.
"What? Unacceptable! You can't be turning your attention away from my glorious salute to your magnificence." He reached his hand into Kara's phone, the arm vanishing up to the shoulder. He frowned, then grinned.
"Got her!" He removed his hand and snapped his fingers. Cat Grant materialised in the tower beside them, wearing a shawl and skimpy bikini that Kara honestly hadn't thought a fifty-year-old woman could pull off. Then she berated herself. This was Cat Grant. Of course, she could pull that off.
"Now. Pay more attention, darling," Mxy admonished, tapping her cheek before vanishing. Cat blinked several times, focussing on the dancing troop.
"Prince Mxy! Handsome is he, that Mxyzptlk
That physique! How can I speak
Weak at the knee
Well, get on out in that square
Adjust your veil and prepare
To gawk and grovel and stare at Prince Mxy!"
"Kiera," Cat said blandly, looking Kara up and down, "What on Earth did you do to this poor man."
"I did nothing! He appeared in my apartment and put me in a wedding dress! Now he's trying to convince me to marry him like I'm a Disney princess!" Kara fumed, completely forgetting that Cat wasn't supposed to know who she was.
"I wouldn't be whinging if I was a Disney princess," the red-haired cop muttered again.
"Kiera. In my experience, men only do stupid things for one of two reasons. The first is to impress a woman. The second is on a dare. This, screams of rejection." Kara just groaned.
"Prince Mxy!
Amorous he! Mxyzptlk!
Heard your superhero was hot! Where is she?
And that, good people, is why he got all cute and dropped by
With sixty elephants, llamas galore (For real!?)
With his bears and lions, a brass band and more (What?)
With his forty fakirs (Oh!) his cooks, his bakers (Oh!)
His birds that warble on key (Oh!)
Make way for Prince Mxy!"
Kara, fuming, stepped up onto the lip of the tower just in time for Mxy himself to jump up into the air and transform himself into Kryptonian armour, with a Superman-Esque cape and everything.
"Now, will you marry me?" He asked, winking at her.
"NO!" Then she jumped off the tower, praying to Rao that her powers would come back. Thankfully, they did, and she caught herself, before shooting back up into the air.
"Kiera! Flying away from your problems is not the answer!"
"Seriously?!" Kara raged around the conference table in the DEO. "You knew how to get rid of him, and you didn't tell me?" Mon-El cowered away from her glare just slightly.
"You said you could handle it," he pointed out. Kara continued to glare.
"Okay," J'onn said, trying to diffuse the tension, "We trick Mxyzptlk into saying his name backwards. Any ideas?"
"I might have something," Alex said, a cheerful grin plastered across her face. She was thoroughly enjoying Kara's humiliation this day. It hadn't helped that Cat was blowing up Kara's phone every few minutes. Most likely demanding an interview. She pulled Kara to the side and whispered something in her ear. Kara swallowed thickly, then nodded.
"Well, Kiera, you'll be pleased to know that your dating life is apparently more popular than even that new movie trailer with Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel in it. At least, according to the YouTube views." Kara groaned, then dropped her head to the conference table.
"How the hell did you get in here?" J'onn demanded.
"I'm so sorry," James said, appearing from behind Cat, "but she wouldn't stop until I brought her here."
"This is a top-secret government facility, Mr Olsen. You aren't supposed to know about it either."
"Oh, leave him be Mister Tall, Dark and Martian. No one can resist my withering stare. Isn't that right Kiera?"
"Yes, Miss Grant," Kara mumbled into the desk.
"There we go. Progress. Now, what's your plan for dealing with the giant blimp currently flying around this building."
"The what?" Cat raised an eyebrow, then pointed over her shoulder. Outside the balcony window, a zeppelin flew through the air with an image of Mxy's face on it. It passed by, revealing a giant pink banner hanging behind it, the words "Supergirl, will you marry me?" painted upon it in bright red.
Kara's phone began ringing again. Oliver's called ID appeared. She grabbed the phone and threw it through the wall, eliciting a scream of fright from Winn as it zipped past his head.
"That's it. I'm ending this right now."
"Alex, you have to show me those videos."
"Seriously, Barry?"
"I want to see them too."
"Oh, come on, not you too J'onn."
"What? I'm sure it will be educational should Mxyzptlk ever appear again."
"Liar."
Kara stepped into the centre of the blimp, which, fittingly, had been turned into a tropical oasis. Behind her came Hank in his Martian form, Mon, Alex, James in his Guardian outfit, and Cat – wearing three-inch heels, a pencil skirt and white blouse, complete with handbag and sun-glasses. Why had she been allowed to come? She'd glared at Hank. Even he hadn't the strength to resist.
Mxy stood beneath a wedding arch by the giant front window, National City spread out before them.
"Ah! Kara, baby-doll. You've come to me. I knew you would. No one can resist me for long."
"Clearly you haven't met Angelina Jolie," Cat remarked dryly.
"Why don't you just take your magic," Mon-El snapped, "and go back to your dimension, and leave Kara al…" Mxy snapped his fingers, and Mon-El transformed into a pumpkin. Alex and James both shrunk into the shapes of mice, and J'onn became a fluorescent green horse. Kara was put back into the Vera Wang. Cat… ironically remained exactly the same.
"Bippity, boppity, boring," Mxy said, "Whatever shall I do next? Summon a Highstorm? Raise a volcano in the middle of the city?"
"Turn them back," Kara said, stepping forward. "I'll marry you." Mxy froze mid-snap.
"Really?"
Kara shuddered. "Yes. Put everything back to normal, and I'll marry you." Mxy narrowed his eyes at her.
"How do I know you won't trick me?"
"Please, Keira doesn't have a deceitful bone in her body. It's something I spent years trying to train out of her. If I couldn't do it, you certainly can't," Cat said. Kara closed her eyes and counted to five.
"If you don't turn them back, I'll be forced to get nasty," she warned, and Mxy laughed. "Kara honey, I love that fire in you, but do you honestly think there's anything you can do that I can't counter?"
"You can't stop me from killing myself," she said, "It's in the rules. What do the other Ascended Beings call it? The Multiversity Accords." Mxy flinched, and mouse-Alex began nibbling on her dress.
"How'd you know that?"
"You only showed up after I said Barry was off-universe, which means a Flash is the only person with the knowledge to take you down. So I made some calls, and Vibe was able to help me out. I've ordered the DEO to fire three nuclear warheads at this blimp of yours on my command. If you don't undo all your magic, I'll do it."
"You'd kill your friends!"
"They knew the risk. You might be able to survive a nuke, but I can't. So, release them."
Mxy huffed, but did as asked, though he did vanish everyone back to the DEO. Now it was just Kara and Mxy on the tropical beach in the sky. He stepped up beside her, smirking, and took her arm in his, guiding her towards the archway.
"I knew you'd come around."
"I decided that having your powers on my side is better than being at odds with you," Kara forced, "But if you marry me, you have to use your powers for good."
"Done. You want world peace? World peace it is." They stopped beneath the arch, and Mxy summoned that diamond ring again.
"This is going to be spectacular!"
"Wait!" Kara said, raising a hand.
"What?"
"I want my vows to be in Kryptonese. They'll matter more to be that way." Mxy bowed to her.
"Your wish is my command."
"Thank you, just repeat after me." She spoke the words, and he repeated, her stomach rolling at the self-revulsion she felt at bastardising tradition this way. But it was the only plan she had. And at the very end, she changed a single word.
"Kltpzyxm." He realised his mistake the second after he made it and looked at her with such an expression of hurt, she actually felt a tiny stab of guilt.
"Well, bugger."
"I'm sorry, Mxy," she said, "But I had to get you off Earth."
He sighed. "I just wanted someone to love me."
"Love can't be won Mxyzptlk. It has to be earned. One step at a time." He disintegrated into blue dust, as did the blimp and Kara's dress and make-up. She was flying in the air in her Supergirl suit over the city. And about a dozen camera crews were on the ground below. She was never going to live this down.
THE PRESENT…
"That might actually come close to topping Beebo," Sara admitted, trying to quell her fits of laughter as Ray adopted a look of outrage.
"I said almost."
"Can we please move on?" Kara begged.
"Okay fine." Cisco looked down to the timeline, tapping a point with his finger, "Next up is my favourite crossover."
"The Duet."
Authors Notes: DUET REDUX
So. As were quick spamming the Mxyzptlk episode of Supergirl, we saw the scene where Mxy puts himself and Mon El into Hamilton the Musical. Then, because it's us, and we love Hamilton, we decided that we were going to re-write Duet after all. If you don't like Hamilton… maybe skip to the next chapter. If you have a soul, enjoy true believers.
Anything italicised in this chapter is sung. If it's underlined, it comes from either Hamilton the Musical or Duet verbatim. If it's both, it means it's both sung and not our wording.
SUPERGIRL: S2EP17 – DUET
Barry groaned in pain as he struggled to pull his eyes open. His head throbbed something fierce, and a voice was ringing in his ears…
"Barry! Barry!"
Barry lifted his head from the wooden floorboards, running a hand through his hair, and froze in shock. He was in a bar, and not one he recognised. The tables were all simple wood, circular in shape, with varying numbers of equally bland stools beside them. The air was thick with smoke, and the only illumination came from the fireplace set into the wall, and the candle settings on the tables and the bar opposite him, where Kara was rushing towards him. Kara!
She reached him, holding out a hand to pull him upright.
"Thanks," he breathed, then Kara pulled him into a tight hug – one which he returned with equal fervour. They parted, and Barry finally had time to take her in. She wore a colonial-style dress of red and gold, with ruffled skirts and a golden necklace around her neck. Her hair was done up in an intricate twist, a curled strand falling on either side of her head. She was… well, she looked gorgeous.
"What's going on? Are you, you know, you?" She asked, breath coming fast.
"Yeah, and I was going to ask you the same question actually. You look amazing by the way," Barry said, then started looking around, trying to get an idea of what was going on. They were definitely in some type of old-time saloon – at least that's what the aesthetic seemed to scream.
Kara blushed. "Well, um, thank you, and, you don't look half bad yourself," she stuttered. Barry frowned, then looked down at his own clothes. He was wearing a knee-length coat of deep blue with red piping and silver buttons, with a white shirt and trousers beneath.
"My colours look good on you," Kara muttered, staring at him inquisitively and biting her lip. Then she realised just what she'd said, and her face turned bright red at the same time her eyes went wide.
The door to the bar swung open, and two men stepped inside, both wearing coats not dissimilar to Barry's own, though one wore brown and the other man's coat was of a lighter blue.
"Well if it isn't the prodigy of Princeton College: Aaron Burr!" A man shouted from across the room, beckoning with a waved hand. The two men turned sharply to the man that shouted, before walking towards them, signalling greetings of their own.
Barry's jaw dropped open.
"If that's Aaron Burr…"
"Then that's…" Kara whispered.
"Alexander Hamilton," another voice finished from behind them, and Kara and Barry both spun around, coming face to face with the very person who'd sent them here in the first place.
"You!" Kara exclaimed.
"Me!" The man said, throwing his hands out.
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Well, let's just say you can call me the Music Meister and leave it at that."
"What did you do to us!?" Barry said.
Music Meister actually looked affronted as he replied.
"Me? Nothing. I just send people where they need to go. It's my reason for being you might say," he said, straitening his tight gentleman's suit.
Kara groaned. "Oh god you're like Myxy, aren't you?"
Music Meister perked up, "My cousin did say he was coming to visit you, how'd that go?"
"I almost nuked the myself," she replied flatly. He paused, furrowing his brow.
"Yes, well, glad you didn't do that."
Barry stepped in front of Kara and tried to grab the man by the collar. However, he just stumbled through him, as if he wasn't even there.
"What the…"
Kara balled her fists, shifting into a fighting stance, and then realised a slight problem.
"What happened to my powers?" She demanded. Barry spun back around and tried to vibrate his hand. Nothing happened. Oh frack.
"They're mine now. See, while you're stuck here, Central City is mine for the taking. Not exactly the setting I would have chosen," he said cheerily, looking around the pub, "I prefer the action movies or the horrors. Much greater chance of you dying in those. But I suppose a wartime musical will do too."
"How do we get out of this?" Barry demanded, trying to look threatening, though without his powers it didn't look like much.
"That's for you to figure out," he said, "Toodles!" He vanished in a puff of smoke as Barry tried to reach for him again, leaving the pair alone in the crowded bar.
Kara closed her eyes and started counting to herself, Barry, on the other hand, fixed his gaze on the table featuring Alexander Hamilton. A wartime musical, featuring Burr and Hamilton? He could only think of one that would fit.
Burr had sat down at the table, an awkward Hamilton standing behind him. One of the men at the table, who could only be the Marquis de Lafayette judging by his hair, gestured to Burr with his mug.
"Come on, Burr! Give us a verse, drop some knowledge."
Kara had followed his gaze, realising the same thing he had.
"That's Lafayette – the French officer who fought in the Revolutionary War, helped win the Battle of Yorktown, then returned home to fight in the French Revolution," she whispered, a bit of awe slipping through her voice. "Then the men next to him must be…"
"Hercules Mulligan – spy for the Sons of Liberty crucial for the intelligence he delivered to the Continental Army ahead of Yorktown; and John Laurens, famous for his outspokenness against slavery," Barry finished, nodded dumbly.
"Barry?" Kara asked hesitantly, "Have we been transported back in time?"
"That or we're actually in Hamilton the Musical," Barry guessed.
"What do we do?" Barry wasn't entirely sure how to answer that, so the pair ended up just standing there, watching the by-play between the five men.
"Good luck with that," Burr said, rolling his eyes,
"You're takin' a stand.
You spit, I'mma sit
We'll see where we land."
"Definitely the musical," Kara said. Then, pursing her lips, she gathered her skirts and started walking towards the table.
Barry rushed up to her, grabbing her hand, "What are you doing?"
"If we are inside Hamilton, then the smartest move it to attach ourselves to Hamilton himself. Maybe if we keep him alive through the war, we can get ourselves out."
"But we don't have our powers!"
"Then it's a good thing Oliver's been training us, isn't it." She pulled free of his grip and moved towards the men, grabbing a serving tray from a passing waitress with ease. Barry couldn't bring himself to move he was so stunned. Of course, Kara had been a waitress in college. Still, even without her strength, she was gutsier than he was. What did one say to one of the founding fathers?
"Evening fellas," Kara said, twisting her words into a thicker brogue than Barry had ever heard her use before.
"Ah!" Lafayette exclaimed, taking Kara's hand and placing a kiss on it, "Madame Karalina, I 'ad not though to see you tonight!"
"Had to change shifts on late notice," Kara, or, well, 'Karalina' said he supposed.
"I will consider it a gift then!" he raised his mug to her, taking a sip. Barry finally broke through the haze of utter confusion clogging his brain and made his way towards the table himself.
"And Bartholomew Allen, I thought you shipped out down the river?" John Laurens exclaimed, nodding to Barry as he approached. Bartholomew. Of course, his name wouldn't have changed. It already sounded like it belonged in the wrong era. Barry glanced at Kara, then made a calculated gamble. He threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. Kara went with it after a brief second of resistance, laying her head on his shoulder.
"I asked for a transfer," Barry said. His accent wasn't as good as Kara's, but it was passable at least. "Didn't want to be too far away from my girl."
The men laughed, raising their glasses. "Here here!" The table silenced, then, finally, Laurens spoke up, an odd look on his face.
"Burr, the revolution's imminent. What do you stall for?"
Then, as Burr made to reply, Hamilton – who had so far been silent – stepped forward.
"If you stand for nothing, what'll you fall for?"
Lafayette, Mulligan and Laurens turned their attention to Hamilton, as if noticing him for the first time. Barry glanced to Kara, who sighed dramatically. Then they mirrored the actions of the others.
"Oooh."
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"Who is this kid, what's he gonna do?!"
Hamilton took a long breath, and though it seemed that only Barry and Kara could hear it, music began playing through the room.
"I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot!
"I'mma get a scholarship to King's College
I probably shouldn't brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish
The problem is I got a lot of brains, but no polish
I gotta holler just to be heard
With every word, I drop knowledge."
Barry and Kara both had to work hard to keep the smirks off their faces at the sight of Alexander Hamilton rapping to his friends in a bar. 'Friends' being loose terms at this point, seeing as how the four men seemed to be mostly just humouring the man.
"I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
Tryin' to reach my goal, my power of speech: unimpeachable
Only nineteen, but my mind is older
These New York City streets getting colder, I shoulder
Ev'ry burden, ev'ry disadvantage
I have learned to manage. I don't have a gun to brandish
I walk these streets famished
The plan is to fan this spark into a flame
But damn, it's getting dark, so let me spell out my name
I am the— A-L, E-X, A-N, D, E-R—we are—meant to be…
A colony that runs independently
Meanwhile, Britain keeps shitting on us endlessly
Essentially, they tax us relentlessly
Then King George turns around, runs a spending spree
He ain't never gonna set his descendants free
So there will be a revolution in this century
ENTER ME!"
Mulligan glanced to Kara, rolling his eyes. "He says in parentheses," he muttered slyly, and Kara couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped her.
"Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me
I will lay down my life if it sets us free
Eventually, you'll see my ascendancy."
"And I am not throwing away my shot (my shot)
I am not throwing away my shot (my shot)
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot!"
Though Burr still looked disinterested, Lafayette, Mulligan and Laurens all began to perk up, singing alongside the charismatic Hamilton. Barry and Kara, unable to continue resisting, both joined in as well.
"I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
It's time to take a shot!"
Lafayette kicked back his chair, rising to his feet and placing a foot against the table.
"I dream of life without the monarchy.
The unrest in France will lead to "onarchy."
"Onarchy?" Laurens asked, raising an eyebrow as he smirked.
"How you say? How you s—Oh, anarchy!" Lafayette exclaimed.
"When I fight I make the other side panicky
With my…"
"Shot!" the group yelled together. They had started to gather a bit of a crowd around them.
"Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice,"Mulligan said, voice gaining strength as he sang.
"And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis
I'm joining the rebellion cuz I know it's my chance
To socially advance, instead of sewin' some pants
I'm gonna take a…"
"Shot!"
Barry glanced at Kara, then shoved her forward slightly. Kara cast a quick confused glance back at him, but he just winked at her. The others looked at her expectantly, and she began to sing, slowly gaining more confidence as she went.
"I'm stronger, faster, more powerful than y'all
Think you could stop me? Boy, you don't have the gall!
So why are we women trapped down on the floor?
Oh, we should all be shooting for the farthest shore!
We just need to take a…"
"SHOT!"
"Eh, but we'll never be truly free," Laurens jumped in,
"Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me
You and I, do or die, wait till I sally in on a stallion
With the first black battalion
Have another…"
"SHOT!"
Finally, Burr, who seemed quite unnerved by this point, stood up.
"Geniuses, lower your voices
You keep out of trouble, and you double your choices.
I'm with you, but the situation is fraught,
You've got to be carefully taught:
If you talk, you're gonna get shot!"
Hamilton just brushed him off.
"Burr, check what we got
Mr. Lafayette hard rock like Lancelot
I think your pants look hot
Kara, you're as sharp as a shot
Laurens, I like you a lot.
Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot!
What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot?
Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not.
A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists,
Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is!
Oh, am I talkin' too loud?
Sometimes I get over-excited, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a group of friends before
I promise that I'll make y'all proud."
"Let's get this guy in front of a crowd!" Laurens exclaimed, throwing an arm around Hamilton's shoulders and slapping him on the back. This time, when they launched into the chorus, the entire bar sang along.
"I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, I'm just like my country,
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry,
And I'm not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, I'm just like my country,
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry,
And I'm not throwing away my shot!"
Burr threw his hands up in the air, then turned on his heel and left the bar. Barry didn't really care at that moment. Instead, he grabbed the serving tray from Kara and placed it on the table, then, he took her arms and spun her around. Lafayette laughed raucously, then grabbed one of the other serving women and did the same. Laurens instead stood up on the table and shouted to the crowd.
"Rise up!
When you're living on your knees, you rise up.
Tell your brother that he's got to rise up.
Tell your sister that she's got to rise up."
He threw his hands up into the air, and everyone shouted with him.
"When are these colonies gonna rise up!?"
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Woah)
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Woah)
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Woah)
Rise up!"
Barry continued to spin Kara around, dress flaring around her and cheeks a rosy red. Honestly, he didn't think he'd ever seen a sight so beautiful. He resolved to learn to dance just so he could see the utter joy on her face again when they went home.
"And I am not throwin' away my shot
I am not throwin' away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwin' away my shot."
Laurens jumped down from the table and elbowed Mulligan in the side, gesturing to Hamilton.
"We gonna rise up; time to take a shot
(Not thrown' away my shot)
We gonna rise up; time to take a shot
(Not throwin' away my shot)"
The two men tackled Hamilton from behind and lifted him onto their shoulders.
"We're gonna rise up! Rise up!" Hamilton cried.
"It's time to take a shot!" Barry and Kara yelled.
"Rise up, rise up," Lafayette and Laurens chorused
"It's time to take a shot (rise up, rise up)" The audience cheered, and Barry threw Kara up in the air.
"(Wo-oah) Time to take a shot (rise up).
Take a shot, a shot, a shot, (Oh-Oh, oh)"
Barry caught Kara, and they completed one final spin, splitting apart with giant grins spread across their faces.
"A-yo, it's time to take a shot!
Time to take a shot!
And I am…
Not throwing away my…"
"Not throwing away my SHOT!"
Barry, Kara, Lafayette, Laurens, Mulligan and Hamilton pumped their fists in the air, and the crowd surrounding them cheered, applause filling the bar. Barry laughed, then reeled Kara back in and kissed her hard on the lips – both of them still smiling like idiots. Maybe this musical thing wasn't so bad, after all.
Two hours and several dozen drinks later, Kara and Barry were still sitting at the table with Hamilton and company. The thing was, even without her powers, Kara appeared to be the undisputed champion of holding her liquor. She thought it was maybe the strength of the alcohol, or rather, the lack of strength compared to modern drinks. For Kara, whose body was more used to alien booze than human booze, this stuff was piss weak. Barry seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, though. After all, this was the first time he'd been able to actually drink alcohol, and have it affect him since… well since she'd known him actually. It was kind of funny, watching him sing along with the men.
"I may not live to see our glory," Hamilton declared, slurring his words as he spoke
"I may not live to see our glory," the others agreed, their syllables equally as slurred.
"But I will gladly join the fight," he said, and once again the others repeated him.
"But I will gladly join the fight." Kara just watched Barry trying to suppress her laughter as he swayed a little too far and bumped Lafayette in the side. The Frenchmen didn't seem to notice.
"And when our children tell our story,"
"And when our children tell our story."
"They'll tell the story of tonight," Hamilton finished, finishing his drink.
"Let's have another round tonight," Mulligan said, waving to the waitress – a brunette named Annie, though Kara knew her name she wasn't sure.
"Let's have another round tonight!" Lafayette agreed.
"Let's have another round tonight," Hamilton exclaimed.
Laurens raised his mug in the air. "Let's raise a glass to freedom. Something they can never take away. No matter what they tell you."
"Raise a glass to the six of us," Lafayette said, "Tomorrow there'll be more of us!"
"Telling the story of tonight," they all finished together. Annie returned with another tray of drinks, and Kara shook her head at her as she made to refill Barry's cup. Annie smirked, winked at her, then moved away without giving Barry anything. Kara sidled up beside him and whispered in his ear.
"I think we need to make sure Hamilton and the crew survive the war," she said to him.
"Mmhmm," Barry replied hesitantly as the others continued singing their drinking song.
"We don't know how long we're going to be stuck here, so we may as well work to settle in. We seem to have been inserted into this time, or the dream, or whatever this is. That means we should have a home somewhere near here. Can you think of anything?" Barry furrowed his brow, trying to clear his mind of drink induced fog.
"I… I think so. There's a place in… in Harlem, I think. I don't know. I remember it, but I've never been there before. I think I could find it again."
"Hopefully we can find out what your job is when we get there," Kara said.
"Yeah…" He blinked several times, then turned to face her.
"If we have to be trapped in this… whatever this is. I'm glad I'm in here with you."
She smiled softly with him, then leant her head against his.
"Me too, Barry," she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear, "Me too."
"Raise a glass to freedom. They'll tell the story of tonight."
Time had gone wonky. Barry honestly wasn't sure whether he and Kara were in an alternate universe, a shared hallucination or maybe they'd actually time-travelled. Regardless of the truth, time was not working correctly. And time was supposed to be his thing, so he should know.
He and Kara had managed to find the home of their alternate selves. Fortunately, there had been no doppelgangers trussed up in the closet. What there had been was an old-timey rustic apartment. Of course, their definition of 'apartment' had to shift rather dramatically. Gas, obviously, hadn't been invented yet. So while they had plumbing, running water and waste disposal thank the speed-force, cooking was still done over an open flame. As a result, their apartment had an oven and a chimney in the lounge, which they couldn't help but find quite quaint. There was, of course, no laundry, and the only other room in the home aside the bathroom was a bedroom. With a single, double bed. 'Bartholomew' and 'Karalina' did not have much money it seemed. Barry's alternate self was a member of the Continental Navy, the third son of a landowner in Upstate New York who'd come to the city in the hopes of joining the Revolution. Kara, on the other hand, had no rank. Her parents had been pilgrims who'd migrated to America twenty years before. She'd run away from home and come to New York, where she'd gained a job waiting tables and singing. There, she had met Barry, and the rest was apparently history.
Exhausted, the couple had slept fitfully through the night. When they woke up the next morning, three days had passed. Similar warps of time would occur frequently. Most of the time it happened when they were asleep, for which Barry was thankful. Usually, they lost weeks at a time, though twice they'd lost entire months. However, sometimes, time would shift while they were awake too. The first time this had happened, Barry had been stepping off the gangway of a navy vessel, only for the boat to vanish, dropping him into the sea. Hamilton and Mulligan had laughed their heads off as they fished him out of New York harbour.
Eventually, though, they settled into a sort of routine, and, with the exception of the society's treatment of women, found they both rather enjoyed the simple life. This, of course, didn't last very long, as they were at war. A fabulous time to not have their powers.
It should also be noted that Hamilton had a death wish, which made keeping the guy alive really fucking difficult. New York harbour was seized by the British relatively quickly, so Barry was never actually deployed to sea – resulting in him being reassigned to the army under Washington's command. Barry and Kara were both immensely grateful for Oliver's firearms and basic combat training. It went without saying that when the couple first saw Washington, they couldn't help but fangirl a bit. Neither of them felt the least bit ashamed at the act. Meeting George Washington was kind of a big deal.
Kara and Barry were influential in convincing Hamilton to accept a position as aide-de-camp to Washington himself, which thankfully minimised the amount of actual military action the man saw, resulting in more nights with far more sleep. Of course, they still had to deal with keeping their own necks alive, which was more difficult than expected.
Over the next three years – as Washington's Army was forced out of New York City by the British – Barry took two bullets. The first was only a flesh wound, and he'd experienced worse as the Flash. The second had been near-fatal, putting him out of service for several months as he recovered from a gut wound.
Kara faced her own share of action. A few days/weeks after their arrival, she was assaulted returning home from the bar. Thankfully, her training with Oliver allowed her to defeat the drunken man with relative ease. Her second run in earned her a bit of a reputation. Three guys tried to jump her, but after the first time, she had appropriated one of Barry's flintlocks to carry in her purse. She shot one man in the chest, and another in the arm. The third had pissed himself and run off. Barry, Lafayette, Mulligan and Hamilton had found the man and beaten the shit out of him the next day. Kara had tried to be mad. It hadn't lasted very long, and instead, she'd just hugged each of the men in turn. That night, she and Barry had quite the celebration.
Another important fact worth noting: Barry and Kara had developed a healthy appreciation for proto-American Bourbon. They also may have accidentally inspired the name, but that was nothing anyone could prove.
The most drastic time-shift came at the end of 1977. The army was being forced further and further back… and Kara and Barry had been walking home one night when the entire city had simply evaporated.
They found themselves in an enormous ballroom decorated for winter – Barry dressed in a fine suit and Kara wearing an elegant grey gown with a large ruffled skirt. They were surrounded by people, and the air was freezing, but the only thing Barry was able to focus on at that moment was Kara's abdomen. And the rather noticeable bump her dress was making barely any effort to conceal.
Kara grabbed Barry with one hand and the wall with another, taking several long shaky breaths as something deep inside her kicked. She froze, head swimming, as Barry called her name. Her entire body felt heavy, lethargic in a way she'd never experienced before. She glanced down and fixed her gaze on her swelled stomach. How far along was she? Five months maybe? Six? Oh god. She was pregnant.
She tore her eyes away from her body and stared at Barry, who had a similar look of shock and confusion on his face. This was so not good.
"How far did we jump?" he asked incredulously, eyes glancing back down at her. Her breasts were more substantial, heavier than they should be, and she supposed her skin must be rosier too. She had a baby growing inside her. She glanced at her hand, where a simple golden ring sat on her finger. Barry followed her gaze, then lifted his own hand. A matching band sat on his hand.
They were married.
Almost against her will, she felt a flutter deep in her chest that had nothing to do with her current condition. She caught Barry's eyes again, and he smirked slightly.
"I guess I should start calling you, Mrs Allen?" he asked. Kara's heart quickened slightly. Mrs Allen. It did have a nice ring to it. As if in agreement, baby nudged at her insides again, and her chest constricted.
"She's an 'appy one for sure!" Lafayette's voice echoed from behind, and not a second later, a pair of arms wrapped around Kara and Barry's shoulders, steering them towards the large ballroom beyond the entrance hallway they found themselves in.
"She?" Kara whispered.
"Qui Madame! Une beautiful baby girl with her mother's divine beauty and the courage of both 'er parents combined! I 'ave a gift for guessing such things!" he beamed. Hamilton and Laurens stepped up behind him, laughing their heads off.
"Yeah, right, Laf. Last month you had the tailor's wife convinced her prized mare would foal," Hamilton said, slapping Lafayette on the back.
"And I was right!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, because you let your stallion into her enclosure!"
"My prediction came true! I just… 'elped the odds a bit." Laurens snorted.
"The year," Barry asked, blinking rapidly, "what year is it?"
A baby girl. The thought made Kara a bit giddy. What would a baby girl of hers and Barry's look like? Blonde hair and green eyes? Or maybe messy brown hair and eyes a sea blue, with the build of a runner. Would the kid have powers? She guessed not, as they didn't have powers at the moment either.
"1780!" They all declared, "A Winter's Ball."
Barry and Kara shared a look.
Over their past… well, she supposed it had been almost five years in real-time now, though they'd only experienced about three months of it, several time shifts had placed them in the vicinities of songs from Hamilton. They'd woken early one day, then, without knowing why, had travelled to a meeting in the centre of the city to witness Hamilton rally a speech against one Samuel Seabury. Kara had almost walked straight into Angelica, Elisa and Peggy Schuyler in New York at one point, and one particularly lousy shift had dropped Barry in a raid with Hamilton to seize some cannons from downtown. That was where he'd taken his second bullet. It seemed the next part of the act was about to commence. It also happened to be Kara's favourite number from the entire musical.
"And the Schuyler Sisters are the envy of all," they muttered to one another.
"That they are," Hamilton whistled, eyes following two women on the far side of the ballroom.
"You know, if you marry a sister, you're rich son," Laurens pointed out.
"Is it a question of if, or which one?"
"Ooo," the men exclaimed, before moving towards the bar on the far side of the room, leaving Barry and Kara to be swept away by the crowd.
"Are you okay?" Barry whispered into her ear as they made their way out of the crowd and to the edge of the room.
"Yeah," Kara replied, resting a hand on her middle, "It's… it'll take a bit to get used to, but yeah, I'm okay."
"I'm so sorry…"
"For what?" She asked. "It's not your fault… well, I suppose it sort of is your fault, but I'm sure I was just as eager a participant." They both blushed, and Kara's eyes sought out Angelica. She was a tall woman, the daughter of Philip Schuyler, a rather important man in Colonial New York if her memory was correct. And rich. Very rich. He must have put on this ball when the army became encamped here. Wherever 'here' was.
She knew what was supposed to happen now, and sure enough, another woman, shorter and blonde of hair, stepped up to Angelica. Her sister, Eliza. She gestured in the direction of Hamilton, and Angelica elbowed her sister, who blushed beat red. Then the older woman made her way towards him.
"Kara," Barry whispered, gesturing to the other side of the room. The band had stopped playing, the lead singer rapidly fleeing the stage. As the music dissipated, the sounds of voices grew louder, overpowering, and Kara had an idea.
"I've got this," she told him, winking. Then, bunching up her skirts, she made her way to the stage.
Walking up the stairs to the raised platform was a lot harder than it should have been.
She eventually reached the stage and walked over to the lead drummer and told him what she wanted. He looked a bit stunned at her bravado at first but didn't take much effort to convince him to play what she wanted.
She stepped up to the old-school microphone, and, glancing to Hamilton as he caught her eye. She winked at him and gestured behind her back for the band to begin playing.
"Helpless,
Look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit.
I'm helpless…
Down for the count, and I'm drownin' in 'em."
She caught the attention of many in the room, her voice a noticeable change to the one they'd been listening too before. She caught Lafayette laughing by the bar.
"I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight
We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night
Laughin' at my sister as she's dazzling the room
Then you walked in, and my heart went "Boom!"
Tryin' to catch your eye from the side of the ballroom
Everybody's dancin' and the band's top volume,"
The song was meant for Hamilton, sung by Eliza, but Kara couldn't help but look to Barry as she sang the words. He was standing at the foot of the stage, a massive grin on his face, whole body swaying to the beat. Boom. She continued to sing, whole body tingling with pleasant warmth.
"Grind to the rhythm as we wine and dine
Grab my sister, and whisper,
"Yo, this one's mine."
My sister made her way across the room to you
And I got nervous thinking "What's she gonna do?"
She grabbed you by the arm, I'm thinkin' "I'm through."
Then you look back at me, and suddenly I'm helpless!"
Helpless. A word to describe her situation rather perfectly as she stared down at Barry… her husband, if only for now. She lifted a soft hand and laid it atop her swelled abdomen.
"Oh, look at those eyes,
Look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit
Oh! I'm Helpless!
Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em,
I'm helpless!
I'm so into you (Look into your eyes,)
I am so into you (And the sky's the limit) I'm helpless!
I know I'm down for the count
And I'm drownin' in 'em."
And though she shouldn't have been able to hear what happened next, she could. An echo in her mind perhaps? Or maybe it was just part of the magic of the musical.
"Where are you taking me?" Alexander's voice asked.
"I'm about to change your life," Angelica replied. Kara looked away from Barry and found her gaze drawn across the room, where Angelica was guiding Hamilton towards Eliza.
"Then, by all means, lead the way." The pair approached Eliza, who blushed something fierce.
"Elizabeth Schuyler. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Schuyler?" Hamilton asked, finally realising who Angelica was introducing him to.
"My sister," Angelica replied smugly, winking at her sister.
"Thank you for all your service," Eliza said, curtseying to Hamilton and dutifully ignoring her big sister.
"If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it." Eliza blushed scarlet, and Angelica nodded, her work done, before sauntering away.
"I'll leave you to it."
"One week later, I'm writin' a letter nightly
Now my life gets better, every letter that you write me."
Kara sang the line, but as she did so, the ballroom melted away, replaced by a study in an elegant mansion, oil-paintings decorating the walls. Angelica and Eliza were in the room, a letter covered in a sleek script in Angelica's hand.
"Laughin' at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem,"
"I'm just sayin', if you really loved me, you would share him,"
"HA!"
The room blurred once more, and Eliza, Angelica and Hamilton were sitting at a dining table across from a middle-aged man. Philip Schuyler. Eliza's father.
"Two weeks later, in the living room stressin',
My father's stone-faced
While you're asking for his blessin',"
They didn't appear to be able to see Kara, but she could see them. Barry was missing, but she couldn't stop singing, despite her trying.
"I'm dying inside, as you wine and dine
And I'm tryin' not to cry
'cause there's nothing
That your mind can't do.
My father makes his way across the room to you
I panic for a second, thinking "we're through,"
But then he shakes your hand and says, "Be true."
And you turn back to me, smiling, and I'm
Helpless!"
The world shifted again, and Kara found herself in an elaborate garden, the manor house in the distance. Hamilton and Eliza were walking between two hedges, and once again it appeared as though they couldn't see her. She waited but didn't feel compelled to sing again. This time, it was Hamilton who spoke.
"Eliza, I don't have a dollar to my name
An acre of land, a troop to command, a dollop of fame
All I have's my honour, a tolerance for pain
A couple of college credits and my top-notch brain
Insane, your family brings out a different side of me
Peggy confides in me, Angelica tried to take a bite of me
No stress, my love for you is never in doubt
We'll get a little place in Harlem, and we'll figure it out
I've been livin' without a family since I was a child
My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild
But I'll never forget my mother's face, that was real
And long as I'm alive, Eliza, swear to God
You'll never feel so helpless…"
The world shifted one final time, and Kara found herself standing beside Barry and Lafayette, her stomach even larger. And they were in a church, decorated for a wedding. Several rows ahead of them, in front of the altar, stood Hamilton in an elegant suit, and Eliza in a gorgeous white dress and veil.
"My life is gon'be fine cuz Eliza's in it."
"I look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit,"
"I'm Helpless!"
"Down for the count, and I'm drownin' in 'em."
"Helpless…"
"I now pronounce you, man and wife. You may kiss the bride!" The crowd stood up as Hamilton kissed his new wife. All except Barry and Kara, who both remained seated, heavy breathing.
"What the hell was that?" Barry breathed, raising a hand to his head and rubbing his temple. But Kara was staring around the room, pieces drawing together like a puzzle.
"Barry. I know how to get home!"
Kara's plan was set back several months by one rather important factor. She gave birth. To a beautiful, healthy baby boy with brown hair and blue eyes. Lafayette had been crestfallen. Kara and Barry had fallen in love instantly.
Naming him had been very difficult. They had to pick a name that worked in the time period, but they also wanted a name that meant something to them. In the end, Kara had decided to name her son Jeremiah. A good name.
He was a loud baby. A very loud baby. Kara got very little sleep those first few months. Fortunately, Kara had struck up a friendship with Eliza, and the other woman was willing to take care of Jeremiah every few nights so Kara could get some sleep.
Barry had been pulled away to war after only two weeks with Jeremiah, where he continued their mission of ensuring Alexander Hamilton – founding father – did not get himself killed before he could do any founding. Without him, she couldn't do the plan anyway, so she poured all her time and effort into Jeremiah.
Eventually, at about six-months, (Kara experienced about four of them) he quietened down a bit, though he still tended to scream at all hours of the night. It was at this point he started showing an intense curiosity about pretty much everything. He began talking – his first word, which Kara loved to repeat to herself as she went to sleep, was 'mama' – and he crawled everywhere. Thankfully, it appeared he hadn't inherited any super speed; otherwise, Kara may not have been able to catch him in her current powerless state. Perhaps the oddest thing about raising Jeremiah though was the fact that Kara found she really enjoyed breastfeeding. Before she'd always found the idea a bit… strange. She had never been the most voluptuous of people, and even in their current state they weren't anything to really drool over, so she'd just sort of ignored the idea of breast-feeding. But, bizarrely, she had found a piece in the activity, in the closeness with her child it provided.
Two months and three time-skips later, Barry finally made it home. Alexander had been sent home by Washington himself after an altercation with another general, but Lafayette had managed to secure aid from the French, and now the Continental Army was preparing to march, and Barry had been sent to retrieve Hamilton. In doing so, he finally managed to see his son again, and Kara could finally put her plan into motion.
Kara stepped into a nook of the Schuyler Manor, Jeremiah in her arms, head resting on her shoulder, and Barry behind her in his blue coat. He would need to leave in a few hours, and if this worked, Kara would go with him.
Sitting at the grand piano, which was positioned so it could look out of a window over the grounds, was Eliza Hamilton.
"Eliza!" Kara called, and the woman looked up, smiling.
"Karalina and Bartholomew! And little Jeremiah too! To what do I owe this visit?"
"I was wondering if you might play some music for us. I was working on a new piece, and I could use a sounding board." She dropped Jeremiah down on a plush chair beside the piano, and sat, bright eyes full of attention, at his mom and dad. Kara withdrew a sheet of paper from her purse and handed it to Eliza. The pianist reviewed the notes, humming the tune softly to herself, then reached for a fountain pen.
"It's good. There's just one error in the D section… and that looks great. Give me a sec to run through it, and you can get to using those gorgeous pipes of yours. I'm still in your debt for singing at my wedding." Eliza placed the sheet atop the piano and Barry leaned over to whisper in Kara's ear.
"What exactly are we doing here, Kara?"
"I think I figured out how we can get home, but first I want to test it."
"How?"
"By getting our powers back." Barry blinked, face contorting in confusion.
Kara laughed softly at his face.
"Every time we sing, reality shifts, jumping time of changing events. I think we should be able to use that to manipulate the world according to our design if we follow our own song instead of the ones from the soundtrack like we have so far." Barry digested that for a second, before beaming.
"Let's do it." Jeremiah squeaked from his position on the couch, and Kara turned back to her son. Her son. She was still getting used to that. She also had to keep reminding herself that this beautiful little boy of hers would most likely be erased when they went home. It panged her heart something fierce, but instead of crying and wallowing, she had decided to instead enjoy and appreciate every minute she had with him. Who knew, maybe he would be born again in the real world. But she had to go home. They both did. There was too much at stake not to.
She knelt down beside Jeremiah, and he grabbed her fingers, pulling them to his lips. Kara smiled softly at him, and Barry put a hand on her shoulder.
"You're a really great mother Kara," he said, staring at Jeremiah with a glassy look in her eye.
"You think so?" she asked, biting her lip.
"I know so. I can see it right now." She placed her free hand on his, and they stayed there like that for a few minutes before Eliza finally finished her practice.
"I'm ready!" Kara and Barry pulled away, standing on opposite sides of the room from one another.
"So, what do we do?" He asked.
"Just sing whatever comes to mind. Sing about us. About who we really are," she said, a grin sliding onto her face.
They nodded to Eliza, who began to play.
"At times like these, when life is getting me down," Barry began hesitantly,
"And the world seems like it's gonna end-ship," Kara rolled her eyes at him, and he shrugged. Then he perked up and continued.
"There's at least one power that we both still have
And that's the power of…"
"Friendship?" Kara finished, not impressed.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say!" Barry said, clearly pleased with himself.
"It was a pretty easy rhyme," Kara pointed out, but Barry ignored her, as he seemed to be getting into a rhythm now.
"I'm your Superfriend, your Superfriend!"
Kara burst out laughing.
"I'll be there in the nick of time
If you're ever in a spot."
Kara rolled her eyes, then spun towards him, flinging her hair over a shoulder and pointing backwards.
"And if you're not there in time
You can just go back in time
And give it another shot!"
Barry winced, and Eliza looked up in confusion.
"I'm actually not supposed to do that anymore," he said. Kara bit her lip. "Oh, okay."
"Sing?"
Good idea.
"I'm your Superfriend
Superfriend!"
Kara spun towards the window and sat primly on a stool there as Jeremiah clapped from his seat. Barry moved towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder and adopting a similar posture.
"When you need a compliment,
I can rattle off a dozen
For instance, I have to say I'm not impressed…
By your more famous cousin."
Kara laughed, breaking her pose. "Thank you! No one ever says that!"
Barry grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her feet, "Oh, he's all like "Oh, I'm Superman, whoopty whoopty woo!" He said, rolling his eyes.
"That's a really good impression."
"Thanks!" Kara grabbed a hat from where it had been left on a side table, tossing it to Kara.
"I'm your Superfriend
Superfriend!"
They sang together, tossing the hat between them in a series of elaborate manoeuvres. Both of them were grinning like idiots. Eliza seemed utterly flummoxed but continued anyway.
"When it comes to lovers, babe, you're the best!"
"I love you more than the lightning bolt I wear on my chest!"
Kara grinned, pushing her voice to the limit,
"If you're ever sad, I'll bring you flowers!" Barry grabbed her by the waist, discarding the hat and dipping her.
"And you can list soprano as one of your powers."
"Thanks!"
"If you're ever broke…"
"I've got the cash."
"On my couch…"
"You're welcome to crash."
She lifted up, spinning back to back with him.
"And if you ever need a hand…"
"I'll be there in a Flash!"
Kara broke apart and punched him in the shoulder. And he moved at superspeed to avoid the hit.
"Barry?!"
He beamed.
"Come on, that was funny."
Barry grabbed both of Kara's hands, then began to spin them around together.
"I'm your super friend!
I'm your super friend!
I'm your super-that-has-a-double-meaning-friend!"
As they sang the final line in harmony, Barry threw her up into the air. And she caught herself, gravity her prison no more.
"YES!" They yelled, and Kara flipped upside down the give Barry a high five. Lightning crackled across his body, and he zipped to Jeremiah, who had pushed himself up on shaking legs using the armrest and had begun rapidly clapping and cheering, and picked the boy up, spinning him – thankfully in normal speed.
Eliza sat with a completely stunned expression on her face. Then a glass shattered. Hamilton stood in the doorway, staring at Kara, who was still floating upside down. Barry glanced to Kara and winked. He placed Jeremiah back on the seat, then flashed away, returning in a moment with glasses and a bottle of Philip Schuyler's finest bourbon.
Kara dropped back to the floor and accepted a glass. Then she turned to Eliza.
"I don't suppose you know a good tailor, do you?"
Barry stepped into George Washington's office the eve before their march to Yorktown, and, if history played out the way it was supposed to, the end of the war.
"Ah, Mr Allen. What do you need, son?" Washington said, looking up from the papers on his desk. Kara slipped into the room behind Barry and locked the door. Washington immediately grew concerned.
"Who is this?"
"This is my wife, Kara," Barry said. He had finally gotten so used to Kara being his wife that he no longer had to think about using the phrase, "And you're going to need her help at Yorktown." Washington raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure you're quite accomplished my dear, but war is no place for…" Kara pulled back her blue coat – which Barry had stolen for her at superspeed from a shorter officer than himself, so it actually fit – revealing the costume that Eliza's friend had managed to cobble together. Blue top, gold belt, a blue skirt of a single bolt cloth (no underskirts to get in her way) and white tights beneath. She had a deep red cloak bastardised into a cape, though she didn't wear it now. But she'd been able to iron on a rough version of the S that Kara had drawn for her.
Kara floated up into the air and fired a blast of heat vision at the wall, creating a deep gouge in the wood.
Washington's jaw fell open.
Barry had not been able to get a suit anywhere near as good as the one he usually used. The materials simply didn't exist yet. But he had been able to put together a set of boots – with layers of leather between steel plates to prevent them from melting. They held together well enough, though he went through about a pair a day. He wore a leather suit dyed red, with a yellow lightning bolt sewn into the breast pocket.
"We're time travellers from the future," Kara explained. They'd agreed they should probably leave the alien and metahuman stuff out. "And we're here to help. Let us."
Washington swallowed then glanced to Barry.
"What… what can you do?" Barry flashed through the wall in a blur of yellow, then returned with a sheet of paper. He'd run to one of the British ships anchored in New York harbour and back. He handed the paper to Washington.
"Troop movements straight from the horse's mouth general. Move now, and you'll win the war."
Washington stared at the papers for a few seconds, then he grinned.
"Consider yourselves approved for active duty."
Barry and Kara sat down across the carpet from their son, beckoning him towards them.
"Come on! You can do it! Come to mama!" Kara cooed, and the little boy began crawling towards Kara. He squealed with glee as he reached her and she lifted him up into the air. She threw him up and down several times, confident that she or Barry could catch Jeremiah at superspeed if necessary.
Eventually, after several repeats of this, the boy doing laps between Kara and Barry, he became so tired he curled up in Kara's lap and fell asleep. Barry scooted up beside her and placed a hand on his son's head.
"What happens to him when we go back?" he asked. Kara shuddered.
"He gets erased I guess," she said softly. They glanced to the grandfather clock ticking away. Three minutes till midnight. Two minutes until the next and final shift.
"I don't want him to be erased," Barry said.
"Neither do I." Tears began sliding down her face, and Barry pulled her to his chest as his own eyes started to water.
"But…" Kara continued through her sniffles, "I'm glad I got to know him. I've made my peace with it, and… well, I'd rather have had this time with him than not have any at all."
Barry kissed Kara on the head, then pressed his head against hers.
"You know… we could always try again when we get home," he suggested. Kara looked up at him, eyes wide.
"Really?" Barry smiled softly at her.
"For you? I'd do anything."
The clock struck midnight.
The Battle of Yorktown. 1781.
Barry and Kara were dropped into the middle of a forest, both dressed in typical military garb, rifles over their shoulders. Kara's hair had been tied up and tucked beneath her hat, and it appeared her breasts had been strapped down to hide them beneath the coat. Ahead of them, Lafayette stepped out of the forest and approached the man standing out in front of Barry and Kara's battalion. Alexander Hamilton.
"Holy biscuits," Kara breathed, deliberately making her voice deeper, "I'm pulling a full-blown Mulan!"
"Monsieur 'Amilton!" Lafayette exclaimed, clasping hands with Hamilton.
"Monsieur Lafayette!"
"In command where you belong!"
"How you say, no sweat." The two men parted, and Barry caught sight of a French battalion sneaking out of the woods on the other side of the field.
"This is so cool."
"We're finally on the field. We've had quite a run," Hamilton said with a laugh. Lafayette threw his hands up in the air, grinning.
"Immigrants…"
"We get the job done!" they said together, high fiving.
Barry and Kara just laughed.
"So, what happens if we win?" Hamilton asked.
"I go back to France," Lafayette answered, "I bring freedom to my people if I'm given the chance."
"We'll be with you when you do," Hamilton assured, and Barry and Kara both winced. Not… exactly.
"Go lead your men," Lafayette admonished.
"I'll see you on the other side!" Hamilton said as they turned away.
"Till we meet again!"
As Hamilton walked past them, seemingly unaware as to who they were, Barry and Kara began to sing, eyes locked on his retreating figure.
"I am not throwin' away my shot!
I am not throwin' away my shot!
Hey yo, I'm just like my country, I'm young,
Scrappy and hungry,
And I'm not throwin' away my shot!
I am not throwin' away my shot!"
"'Til the world turns upside down…" Hamilton muttered to himself, staring up at the sky.
"'Til the world turns upside down…" Barry and Kara repeated in harmony. Then, Hamilton turned to his men, and they all gathered around him.
"I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.
This is where it gets me: on my feet,
The enemy ahead of me.
If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me.
Weapon in my hand, a command, and my men with me.
Then I remember my Eliza's expecting me...
Not only that, my Eliza's expecting.
We gotta go, gotta get the job done,
Gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son!
Take the bullets out your gun!"
"What?!" The troops called in shock.
"Take the bullets out your gun!"
"What?!"
"We move under cover, and we move as one
Through the night, we have one shot to live another day
We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away
We will fight up close, seize the moment and stay in it
It's either that or meet the business end of a bayonet
The codeword is 'Rochambeau,' dig me?"
"Rochambeau," they repeated.
"You have your orders now, go, man, go!
And so the American experiment begins
With my friends all scattered to the winds
Laurens is in South Carolina, redefining brav'ry,
We'll never be free until we end slavery!"
When we finally drive the British away
Lafayette is there waiting n Chesapeake Bay!
How did we know that this plan would work?
We had a spy on the inside. That's right!"
Though the rest of the battalion couldn't see it, for Barry and Kara, an image bloomed in their heads. An image of a man Barry and Kara now knew very well, as he approached Washington with a series of reports, an enormous smile on his face.
"Hercules Mulligan!"
A tailor spyin' on the British government!
I take their measurements, information, and then I smuggle it,
To my brother's revolutionary covenant
I'm runnin' with the Sons of Liberty and I am lovin' it!
See, that's what happens when you up against the ruffians
We in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it!
Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction
When you knock me down, I get the fuck back up again!"
The world blurred again, and in seconds, Barry and Kara were running with the soldiers as they stormed a fortress of stone, the bay in the distance. Canon fire and sounds of rifles filled the air, and Kara glanced towards Barry. She whipped away the last of her tears, then pulled away her hat and coat, revealing the brilliant suit. The soldiers behind her gasped and stumbled as her hair flew free, then they froze in place as she launched herself at the stone wall and shattered through the opening as if it were paper.
Barry dropped a hand to the ground, then raced forward in a blur of golden lightning, running up the walls and relieving men of their weapons. Some he punched for fun. It just felt so good to run again.
"Unto the breach!" Hamilton cried, and the soldiers raised their weapons in the air.
"FOR AMERICA!"
They rushed forward into the gap as Kara landed in the central courtyard and placed hands on hips.
"Sorry guys, but you're on the wrong side of history," she said, then she swept across the courtyard with her freeze breath as Barry took the walls above her. Anyone they missed, Hamilton's battalion dealt with.
Kara glanced to Barry as the world blurred repeatedly. One second she would be in the sky, taking out artillery positions, the next Barry would be running through entire battalions, scattering men as the French and American troops surrounded the British at Yorktown. They lost count of how many times they shifted, until, finally, reality settled in the middle of an old town, buildings built of stone and brick, the damage from cannon fire evident. Across from them in the bay, a flagship rose the flag of the French and the newly designed American flag, with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, into the air.
"After a week of fighting, a young man in a red coat stands on a parapet," Hamilton's voice echoed as Barry skidded to a halt, Kara floating proudly in the air above him.
"We lower our guns as he frantically waves a white handkerchief," Lafayette said, and Barry finally caught sight of Lafayette, Hamilton, Laurens and Mulligan flanking Washington as they walked, accompanied by two bloodied battalions down the main street of Yorktown.
"And just like that, it's over. We tend to our wounded, we count our dead," Mulligan said.
"Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom," Laurens added."
"Not. Yet," Washington said.
The group reached the middle of the square, and from the other end of the street came another battalion, this time leading a row of British men.
"We negotiate the terms of surrender
I see George Washington smile
We escort their men out of Yorktown
They stagger home single file
Tens of thousands of people flood the streets
There are screams and church bells ringing
And as our fallen foes retreat
I hear the drinking song they're singing…"
"The world turned upside down." The British sang, and Barry and Kara repeated it, nodding to one another. Now was the time.
"The world turned upside down!
The world turned upside down.
The world turned upside down.
Down!
"Down! Down! Down!"
"Freedom for America, freedom for France!" Lafayette cried.
"Down! Down! Down!"
"Gotta start a new nation. Gotta meet my son!" Hamilton yelled.
"Down! Down! Down!"
"We won!"
"We won!"
"We won!"
"We won!" Everyone cried together, and Kara dropped to the ground, pulling Barry into a spin.
"THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN!"
The world blurred away one final time, and Barry blinked. When he opened his eyes, he was in STAR Labs.
"Barry!" Cisco exclaimed, rushing to his side with Caitlin as Alex Danvers grabbed Kara. Barry glanced to Kara as they both sat up. They locked eyes and smiled softly to one another.
"We're back," Kara said faintly. She didn't sound very excited. Barry wasn't sure he was either.
They were interrupted by the sound of clapping. They all spun towards the door, where the Music Meister stood with a sad smile. And Barry knew in an instant, why the man had done what he did.
"Bravo! Amazing performances from both of you!" He said, trying to hide the sadness behind a cheap grin. Cisco groaned.
"How did you get out of the cell?"
Music Meister rolled his eyes.
"Please? That cell? Holding me? Not gonna happen." Cisco looked downright depressed at that.
He looked to Kara, and she nodded softly to him.
"Thank you," she said, and he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well, I'm just glad I could help. I suppose you could say it's my purpose in life, just like it is yours."
"I'm sorry, what?" Alex said, drawing her alien gun and training it on the Music Meister. Kara reached out and grabbed Alex's hand, lowering it.
"Let him go," she said. Alex blanched.
"What? Kara, he tried to take over the city while you were…" she trailed off, watching as the Meister vanished.
"And he's gone." She sighed, rubbing her forehead and re-holstering her gun.
"I need a Big Belly Burger. Who wants some?" she asked, walking towards the exit.
"Ooo! Me, me!" Cisco exclaimed, and Caitlin laughed.
"I'll have a rap thanks, Alex."
"Okay. I'll call Hank. Tell him you aren't, you know, dead anymore." She walked away, and Caitlin turned back to the couple.
"So, what happened to you guys anyway?"
Barry and Kara shared a look.
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you."
Authors Notes: Up next is the Daxamite Invasion and the moment you've all been waiting for: Kara and Barry realise just how big their own personal changes are. Then, the title of the Chapter after that is one word, a name: Ellie. See you soon!