Simply put, Oliver's argument for keeping Kara away from the action in the final part of the crossover was garbage. This alternate scene gives him a little more coherent reasoning, although arguably not enough in the end for him to really be in the right. Also, just on a personal level, I would have felt more satisfied with Kara getting the last word, not Oliver.

As always, all characters belong to DC Comics and the CW, and this is written purely for fun. Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.

...

[Alternate scene, S.T.A.R. Labs hanger, replacing the clip after Oliver asks to speak with Kara privately (DC's Legends of Tomorrow 2x07, "Invasion!")]

As Kara jogged towards him, Oliver saw the polite confusion on her face as to why he wanted to speak with her and knew he'd have to choose his words carefully.

"What's up?" she asked.

Oliver took a deep breath, then said, "While we're meeting with the President, I would like you to keep a low profile."

"Why?" she asked. "This is your President; don't you think she should have as much protection as possible?"

Oliver looked down, trying to decide how to answer. Kara picked up on his hesitancy, and her voice hardened. "It's because I'm an alien. Is that it?"

"Look, Kara," Oliver began, extending out a placating hand. "I'm not trying to make this personal—"

"Great job so far," she interrupted, sarcastically.

"—but I don't know how things work on your Earth," he continued, trying to soften his tone further as her eyes got narrower. "Our Earth has been through the wringer lately. We're dealing with our first-ever alien invasion—"

"Which I'm trying to help you with!" Kara snapped in a low voice.

"Yes," Oliver agreed. "But before you got here, half a year ago, a madman got control of nuclear launch codes and destroyed a city, a town called Havenrock." He was relieved to see Kara ease off, if only slightly enough that he could continue uninterrupted. "Tens of thousands of people died in an instant."

"I'm sorry," Kara replied, softly to let him know she meant it.

Oliver nodded before continuing. "A few years before that, a particle accelerator exploded in Central City, bathing our world in who-knows-what. Some of the results were people like Barry," he said, nodding toward the Scarlet Speedster talking with Ray and Sara, "but many more were people with powers and an intent to hurt others with them."

"That's not my fault," Kara shot back, defensively.

"I'm not saying it is," Oliver replied, "but our world, this Earth, is changing fast, and it just hasn't adjusted yet. I don't want to scare even more people by telling them there's another alien here."

"What makes you so sure they'd be scared?" Kara demanded.

"Because I'm scared of you," he said in a low voice.

Kara put her hands on her hips, saying nothing, although Oliver could almost hear her grinding her teeth. Something told him this wasn't the first time she had encountered this sort of attitude, which would explain the quiet ferocity with which she was arguing with him.

"Kara," Oliver began again, "we don't have a Supergirl. We don't have…," he trailed off, looking around the hanger as if hoping the right words would be painted somewhere for him to read, "…some immigrant from the stars to give us perspective as humans. To teach us all how to be heroes." He looked her straight in the eyes. "We had to learn that ourselves, and we're not ready for this kind of change."

By this point, Kara had crossed her arms over her chest, angry still but also seeming to listen closely to Oliver's words. After he finished, she walked right up to him so that her left side was against his left side, allowing her to talk in his ear without actually looking at him.

In a low voice, she said, "I can't tell if you're genuinely concerned about your Earth's reaction to me, or if you're so insecure in yourself that you can't handle something that you don't understand on first sight."

Oliver bowed his head.

"I should have known. This is actually very typical on my Earth, you know. Anti-alien sentiment," she huffed. Oliver wanted to argue he wasn't "anti-alien," but at the moment he wasn't sure he could saying anything convincing. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's the same over here. The Flash was all I knew about your world, but it looks like he's the exception, not the rule."

"Kara—"

"Save it," she snapped, still low enough so that only he could hear. "I came here to help Barry, and I know he thinks the world of you. For his sake I'll do what you want. Outside of a dead president, a knocked-out cyberwoman, and your merry band of vigilantes in Star City, no one knows about me anyway, do they?"

"No," Oliver agreed, unsure of what else he could say.

"Fine," she finished, although "fine" was not how Oliver would currently describe this interaction. "You're the one calling the shots, after all. I hope, for your sake, you only have one dead president this week."

With that, Kara turned around and stalked off. Oliver had to give her credit. Despite her cheery demeanor, she was far more perceptive than he gave her credit for. Still, after everything that was happening, the last thing the world needed was more panic over yet another alien. This was the right move.

Wasn't it?

...

Author's note: I've always, always loved Martian Manhunter's eulogy to Superman in the Justice League cartoon episode "Hereafter, Part I." I couldn't resist using a bit of it in this chapter.

"Though we gather here today, bound together in sorrow and loss, we share a precious gift. We are all of us privileged to live a life that has been touched by Superman. The Man of Steel possessed many extraordinary gifts, and he shared them with us freely. None of these gifts were more remarkable than his ability to discern what needed to be done, and his unfailing courage in doing it, whatever the personal cost. Let us all strive to accept his gift and pass it along, as an ongoing tribute to Kal-El of Krypton, the immigrant from the stars, who taught us all how to be heroes." - J'onn J'onzz, Justice League, "Hereafter, Part I"