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After Supergirl 514, I want to shake some sense into Kara (and Alex), and so here's Kate and Sara hopefully doing just that.
"Kate Kane! To what do I have the pleasure?" Sara asked, leaning back on the chair in her office as Kate appeared on the screen in front of her.
"We got a problem," Kate said, tight-lipped.
"If it's the end of the universe followed by the worst summer camp ever again, I'll pass," Sara said. "We've got enough Encores to chase down, the timeline to keep in order and - "
"Kara has a date," Kate said, cutting Sara off.
Sara laughed. "And the problem is it's not with you?"
Kate glared. "You know it's not like that."
"I get it. She's cute, she's powerful. But I did her sister one time, so - "
"Sara, please stop."
"Come on, Kate. Don't be jealous. If she wasn't talking about Alex while we were stuck out in the Vanishing Point, she was talking about darling genius Lena Luthor."
"It's not Lena," Kate said.
"What's not Lena?" Sara asked.
"The date. It's not with Lena."
Sara look askance. "Who else would it be?"
"Some guy named William Dey," Kate said, the name sounding bitter in her mouth. "Kara works with him."
"What - why?"
"Why is that his name or why does she work with him?"
"Why is Kara going on a date with him?"
"Apparently he asked her out? Kara's been texting me. She said Alex thought it was a good idea too. But that's not all. He asked her out last week, and she turned him down. Then she called me and debriefed for a good hour."
"What were her reasons?" Sara asked.
"Well, she went in circles a lot, but it was between being worried about the whole Supergirl secret-identity thing, keeping secrets, potentially putting a target on his back, and generally not being that into him."
"But now she's changed her mind?"
"Appears so. She said he 'kept being nice'," Kate said, checking the wording in Kara's message.
"Ugh. Uh-uh. No way," Sara said, standing up. She knew how this story would end if they didn't do something. Kara was too kind and trusting, and would rather put herself in an uncomfortable position or worse than think she had upset someone. "Ava!" she called.
"Yeah, babe?" Ava called back.
"I need to go to National City."
Ava stepped into Sara's office. "Why do you - oh. Hi. I'm Ava."
"Kate Kane," Kate said. "Nice to meet you. Damn, Sara, you weren't wrong about her being fine."
"Ah, thanks?" Ava said, blushing.
"You guys totally need to come to my bar one night," Kate said.
"You have a bar?"
"In Gotham. Gay bar. It's new, which is the only excuse I'll give for you not having visited yet."
"Sounds like we have a destination for our next date-night," Ava smiled.
"First drinks on the house," Kate said.
"Babe, I promise I'll be back in time for bed, but Kate and I have a crisis that needs solving," Sara said, holding her hand out to Ava.
"Have you asked Gideon to prep your Canary suit?" Ava asked.
"Not that kind of crisis," Sara said, pulling Ava onto her knee. "More the oblivious gay-girl going on a date with some dude we know she isn't that into, because the woman she does love is is kinda messed up but not past saving, and her late-blooming lesbian sister seems very confused as to what advice she's supposed to give."
"Babe, messing with people's love-lives is - "
"No worse than messing with the timeline, which we do on an extremely regular basis as our jobs, and we always manage to make things right in the end," Sara said, giving Ava a kiss on the lips.
"Ah, you guys know I'm still here, right?" Kate asked.
"Is this the Danvers sisters you're talking about?" Ava asked.
"Yep," Kate said.
"You'd better go," Ava said, "And try not to sleep with Alex."
"It was one time! We were both sad and confused and now both have wonderful girlfriends," Sara said and kissed Ava passionately on the lips. "Alex Danvers might be very good, but she's no Ava Sharpe."
"Yeah, still here," Kate said, averting her eyes.
"Meet you at National City station in a few," Sara said, not taking her eyes off Ava. "Gideon, set the the coordinates. We've got some relationships to save."
…
Sara scrolled through the messages on Kate's phone. "This is worse than I thought," she said.
"It's gross," Kate said.
"I will admit that the guy is objectively attractive, but from what we know about him - "
"And Kara - "
"And Kara, then this a very big no."
Kate and Sara sat in Big Belly Burger, finishing off their meals. Sara had had Gideon do a bit of research on William Dey, and what she had found had been perplexing. A lot of Dey's story checked out completely, but there were certain holes, times when he seemed to disappear completely for a couple of hours or half a day, then pop up exactly where he was needed.
"You're actually worried about this," Sara said, sipping her coke.
"Kara's a people-pleaser. She'll do what she thinks is right, even if it hurts her," Kate said.
"Has she seen Lena since Crisis?" Sara asked.
Kate shrugged, picking at her chips. "I don't think so. Not to talk about anything properly, that's for sure. I saw Lena, though. She was in Gotham, doing some Luthor Corp meetings and stuff and went to some fashion charity thing that Mary dragged me along to. We didn't get introduced or anything, but I was watching her and - maybe it was just the lighting or she was tired but - behind all the smiling and hand shaking and weird French-style cheek-kissing, she looked so lost. Like she needed someone to give her a hug and tuck her into bed and tell her everything is going to be ok. I don't know if I'm projecting or…"
Sara nodded and pulled out her phone. A quick Google search showed her exactly what Kate was saying to be true. In all recent photos of Lena Luthor, she looked exhausted. But there was something else, a blankness in Lena's eyes that made Sara pity her. "Ok, time to play the Paragon cards, and set all this straight."
Kate chuckled.
Sara rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, but 'straight' is the problem."
Sara shook her head and smiled. "Seems like our Paragon of Hope needs a heavy helping of Courage, and a poke in the right direction from Destiny. And Alex Danvers just needs a smack across the head for encouraging this nonsense."
"She might be able to explain herself."
"Now you're sounding like Kara," Sara said. "Fine, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that she's scared too. You're sure they'll be home?"
"I messaged Kara earlier, and she confirmed that she and Alex were having dinner at her's tonight."
"So we could have gotten free food?"
"They don't know we're coming, and I paid for this because you conveniently forgot to bring any modern-day American currency," Kate said.
"That I did," Sara said, wiping her mouth with a napkin and standing up. "Also you own the bank."
"I don't own a bank. I own a real estate company," Kate said, standing up. She didn't know how she managed to find Sara so charming yet infuriating at the same time.
Sara grinned and pulled a face. "Those people over there think we're a couple, and I want to see them squirm," she said, slipping her hand into Kate's.
"You have a girlfriend."
"Who will find this a very entertaining story."
"You're going to tell her we held hands?" Kate asked, swinging Sara's arm as the people who had been watching them looking awkwardly away.
"Ava knows that other than her, you and Kara know more about me than anyone. Not many people have slept by my side for a month. Hand-holding is quite ok."
Kate nodded, thinking back to the Vanishing Point when Sara would wake from nightmares of horrors from her past, sweaty and panicking. Horrors that came close to what had happened to Alice. If Sara could come back… "Uber or cab?"
"Who cares, you're paying," Sara smirked, still holding Kate's hand as they stepped into the street.
…
"Did you invite J'onn?" Alex asked, hearing a knock at the door.
"No. Did you invite Kelly?" Kara asked.
"No, she wanted to go for a swim, then catch up on Blind Dating or whatever it's called on Netflix which is entirely not my thing."
Kara looked at the door. "Oooooh no," she said, jumping up to open it. "You guys, what - ?"
"Surprise!" Sara grinned, holding a bottle of wine. "We brought decent alcohol - "
"That I paid for," Kate muttered.
"Because we wanted to explain to you why you're making terrible life choices," Sara said.
"Mostly why Kara is making terrible choices, but Alex, sorry, you're encouraging her," Kate added.
"What?" Kara asked, totally confused as to why Kate Kane and Sara Lance were suddenly at her door.
"How about we all have some alcohol and discuss this like adults," Sara said, opening the bottle as she walked inside. "Wow, nice place, Kara. So it just - came like this from your earth? That's handy. Hi Alex. Wow, I don't think I've seen you in sweatpants before."
"Hi," Alex said, getting the distinct impression that Sara was undressing her with her eyes. "You guys know we love you, but you could have called? Or texted or - there's definitely no world-ending Crisis we need to know about?"
"Nope," Sara said, placing the bottle down and finding some glasses. "Ava's captaining the Waverider, and she'll call if anything blows up the timeline so badly she can't handle it."
"And Gotham is a cesspit of crime and injustice on a good night, so they'll be fine without me for a few hours," Kate said.
"It's really good to see you guys," Kara said, giving Kate and Sara a hug.
"You too. Everyone in Gotham has been talking about that article," Kate said.
"That was what you wanted," Kara smiled to Kate. "Happy to be back with the Legends?" she asked Sara.
"Happy to be back with Ava," Sara said. "The rest of the Legends, well, they have their moments. Come here, Alex," Sara wrapped her arms around Alex. "Mm, nice perfume."
"Thanks," Alex said, blushing.
Kara and Alex exchanged a glance. "Sorry, what exactly is going on?" Kara asked, as Sara poured the drinks.
"Oh, this is an intervention," Sara said. "We're intervening because dating this William person is a terrible idea."
"It's one dinner," Kara said defensively. She shot Alex a look.
"I did not invite them," Alex said, holding up her hands.
"Alex is in trouble too, though we're giving her the benefit of the doubt that she's scared to call you out, or say anything to upset you. But we lived with you in a hell-hole for a month, and there's really no secrets left," Sara said.
"What? Please, I - " Kara stumbled over her words, looking between Alex, Sara and Kate.
"You don't like this man, Kara," Sara said. "Maybe you get on well enough, but that's not enough. And maybe the dinner will be fun. And maybe there'll be another some other dinner. Then lunch. Then drinks. Then you'll go back to his and you won't get very far but he'll push you. And then there'll be another dinner and more drinks and he'll keep pushing and then you end up agreeing, and then he'll tell you how great you are at sex, and you'll be polite and go along but it's not what you want. He's not who you want."
Kara's eyes were filled with tears. She picked up the glass in front of her and took a few big mouthfuls of wine. She had been expecting a fun evening with Alex, not to be called out by Sara Lance. Kara wished she could turn back time. She wished she had never messaged Kate. Never met William. But she knew all too well that things didn't work if you tried to change the past like that.
"You told us about him once at the Vanishing Point," Kate said. "Barry was there too. You said he was a jerk and generally not a great guy, and I get that first impressions can be misleading and all of that, and dating can be fun in theory, I guess. But between your messages and our conversation last week… I tried dating and being Batwoman, but it doesn't work."
"It only works when they're in on everything," Sara said. "And I mean everything. Every dirty piece of laundry, every dark corner…"
"And you have a lot of laundry and corners," Kara muttered, looking at her wine glass.
"That's why it works with Ava," Sara said. "Ava and I did have our struggles. It's hard for me to let people in, but secrets will only tear us apart. Yes, sometimes you have to have them, like with Lena, but - "
"Oh, I know I couldn't have told Lena earlier," Kara mumbled, feeling under attack and wishing Kate and Sara weren't making so much sense.
"I think Sara's right," Alex said, picking up her wine glass but avoiding anyone's gaze. "It always comes back to Lena. Everything with Mxy… Anyone else is just a distraction."
Kara looked between her friends and sister. "I - what?"
"Kara, stuck on that ship, in space, the only people you really fretted about having lost were Alex, and Lena," Sara said. "Think about that for a moment. Alex and Lena. My people were Ava and my dad. My people, Kara. Sure, there were others. My team, Laurel, Felicity. I know you had others too, like Clark and your mom, but…"
Kara bit her lip. "I…"
Alex put down her glass and took Kara's hand. "This Paragon thing," she said, looking at Kate and Sara. "It doesn't work so well in isolation."
"What?" Kate asked.
Alex gave a small smile. "If you pair up Courage and Destiny, and you add Hope… It's not just each other you help, it's everyone."
"It's gunna be best coming from you, Alex," Sara said, realising what Alex was getting at.
"Kara," Alex said, taking Kara's hands in hers. "Do you understand what they're saying?"
"You - you said…"
"Yes, it's one dinner. I want you to be happy. But for months you've been so confused. Lost, even. You don't make your own decisions about anything. You can hardly decide what to order off a menu or what flavour donuts you want. Yesterday you messaged me because you didn't know what shoes to wear to work. I can't decide everything for you. And I - I thought… Since you told Lena you were Supergirl, it's been like this, and it's been getting worse. You had to tell her. She had to know. That - that much was right. But now… you need to talk to her again, Kara. And you know she's going to push, so don't go as Supergirl, go as Kara. Open up. The worst she's going to do is scream at you again."
Kara bit her lip to force back tears. Kate and Sara sat silently, their job all but done.
"It's only dinner…" Kara mumbled.
"No," Sara said, "You're leading him on, and that's not fair on anyone. Call the whole thing off. Tell him the truth, or as much of the truth as you can. You've been second-guessing yourself, and nothing should continue if that's the case. Tell him you actually have the hots for Lena Luthor if that's what it takes for him to get the point."
Alex reached across and slapped Sara on the arm. Sara poked her tongue out.
Kara gave a slow nod. "B -but what if - what if Lena's not like.. all of us?" she asked, choking back tears and looking around the room, realising that everyone there was into girls.
"Straight girls don't wear suits like that. Trust me," Sara winked.
…
"And that's the world saved from a little bit more heteronormative nonsense," Sara said, plopping down onto the bed beside Ava.
Ava closed her book and looked up. "So, she actually came out?"
"In as many words. Kate and I decided to leave Alex to the full teary confession. Also I held hands with Kate to make some straights who'd been staring at us feel uncomfortable."
"That's my girl," Ava said, pulling Sara down for a kiss.
"I told Alex to text me, and kinda of expect Kara to send some essays once she sorts herself out."
"Is she still going on the date with that guy?"
"Kate and I will be there glaring at him through the window in full costume if she tries. I'll have a baton in hand, Kate can flip around a baterang."
Ava laughed. "I would actually like to see that."
"You can see me handle a baton any time you like," Sara grinned, leaning over Ava. Her phone pinged. "Hold that thought, Aves," she said, sitting up properly.
Alex Danvers: K asleep. All out. Lots of tears. Guess it's been coming for a while though? Now I think about it, I did see the signs, just sometimes it's easier not to look. Things have been weird since Crisis. Not sure if I want to smack you or thank you. But you owe us big time. Expect long rambling text from K in a.m. Can I call in the morning? I think I need to rant at you.
"Well, I think Alex is kinda mad at us," Sara said. "But it had to be done."
"Reply with something kind," Ava said.
"Does the rainbow flag emoji count?"
Ava raised her eyebrows.
"Fine," Sara said, kicking off her boots and crossing her legs.
Call in the morning is fine. Sorry. We probably could have handled this better, but sometimes you just have to rip the bandaid clean off. I don't know everything that's going on with Kara and Lena, but they need to get it all out before it tears the two of them apart. Kara has a lot of hope for everyone but herself and Lena. She deserves to be happy with the woman she loves, not half-assing a relationship with some dude she doesn't care much for, who she feels like she owes something because he was 'nice'. And I'd do it again, especially to protect you or Kara. Always on your side. Happy to pull a favour whenever you want one. xx
PS: I want to meet Kelly and you HAVE to meet Ava. Double-date at Kate's bar? xx
"Are you sure I can't add a rainbow flag emoji at the end?" Sara asked, reading the message out to Ava.
"Fine," Ava said.
"And one of those heart-with-stars?"
"If you have to."
"And a swan, because it's that or the green parrot."
"No don't - you already pressed send, didn't you."
"Yes, I did," Sara grinned, flicking her phone to silent and putting it on the beside table. "Now, what were we saying about my skills with batons?"
Ava pushed back the covers. "You're the Paragon of Destiny, babe. You tell me."