Updated chapter no. 2! Hope you enjoy!
As it turns out, the Iron Man's been shelved for repairs – not that Kara's surprised, as she did see a clip of the madman under the armor flying into one of the big whale monsters – but Tony Stark's presence can definitely be felt throughout Midtown. Stark Industries personnel, intermingled with darkly armored S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, are hard at work on clean-up duty. There seem to be no alien stragglers in the city – again, not much of a shock. The Avengers were far more thorough then her and Winn.
No one stops them as they approach the SI branded tents set up around Stark Tower, which seems to be at the heart of the relief operation. In retrospect, this should've been Kara's first clue that they're expected.
"I think I'll wait here." –Winn says, visibly nervous as he stares at the crystal monolith ahead. "I really don't want to faint in front of Tony Stark."
Kara nods – Winn's a fan of the tech wiz, to say the least – and walks through the entrance of the main tent. The inside is sparsely lit, and filled to the brim with tech – both alien and human. She recognizes Stark as the sole occupant, sitting at some sort of futuristic workbench, fiddling with a disassembled plasma blaster while holograms dance around him. A pang of nostalgia hits her – this is the closest she's come to human technology akin to Krypton's since she arrived.
Tony Stark looks up, his expression blank for a second before it turns into a practiced smirk. "Well, shit. It's the Supergirl." –he says, setting the part he's working on aside and grabbing an oily rag to more or less clean his hands.
Kara raises an eyebrow. "'Supergirl'? Isn't that a little...I dunno, condescending?"
He tosses the rag aside. "It's what everyone's calling you. Blame the Bugle. JARVIS, if you'd please bring up Jameson's little hit piece?"
The holograms instantly shift to depict an online version of the Daily Bugle, with a fairly iconic image of Kara, her chest snugly wrapped in laser-etched, bright red metal – she doubts anyone can tell that it's the hastily bent hood of a cherry-red sports car she'd marked with the symbol of her House. She's lifting a car overhead, ready to throw it at a bunch of aliens, just out of frame.
"'Illegal alien!'" –she reads, disappointed. She'd thought her tireless services as personal assistant to J. Jonah Jameson might've spared her his anti-hero sentiments. Clearly, that's not the case.
"I wouldn't bother reading it, if I were you. There's a bunch of frankly asinine assumptions and conjectures about you in there, which I'll spare you. Ol' Triple J is desperately trying to cash in on the current paranoia, newspapers being the dying medium that they are." –he says, rolling his eyes. "Stark Industries' PR division is already firing back with some counter-propaganda, and my legions of lawyers are at your disposal. Nothing to be done about your identity, though. Sorry."
Kara nods, crossing her arms. "That's ok. I didn't jump out of a skyscraper thinking I could just...go back to work on Monday, y'know? Thank you for the help, though."
Stark hums. He points at the chest 'armor' from the picture. "Not the fanciest way to grab their attention, but...it worked, right?"
It had – the aliens had mostly ignored her at first, despite the threat she posed. Her cardigan was, sadly, not quite intimidating enough. "Yeah...how'd you know?"
"I don't just paint the armor red and gold for shits and giggles, Ms. Danvers. Standing out in a crisis is a good thing, if you're bulletproof." –he explains. "And the 'S'? What's it stand for? Clearly not Supergirl, judging by your reaction."
Kara scoffs. "It's not a letter. It's a symbol – the crest of the House of El. The emblem of my family."
"...which just so happens to look like a stylized letter 'S', huh? Crazy coincidences."
"I guess. So...you know what I am?" –she asks, hesitant.
He nods at the holograms, which shift again to depict various blurry videos and images of her taking on the alien invaders, most likely sourced from the people she saved. She flies, she punches, and, like Winn says, she shoots lasers from her eyes. "Doesn't everyone?"
Seeing her wince, Stark sighs and banishes the data around him. "I don't have the full picture, no. I know S.H.I.E.L.D. found you about eight years ago, placed you with the Danvers family. I know you work, or rather, used to work – as a PA for J. Jonah Jameson at the Bugle. I know your sister is one of Maria Hill's little drones. And I know you can fly, and bench a few hundred tons without breaking a sweat."
She laughs. "I can see why Alex doesn't like you."
"Most of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't."
"I think I'd like to judge for myself, Mr. Stark." –she says, breathing deeply. It isn't every day she spills her secrets like this. "I'm a Kryptonian. I was born in Argo City, capital of the planet Krypton, into the noble House of El. My parents, Zor and Alura, were brilliant scientists, and they sacrificed themselves so I would live, because when I was twelve, my homeworld exploded."
Stark stays silent for some time – something he seems unaccustomed to, given how uncomfortable he looks. "How'd you get here?"
Kara grabs a stray piece of alien armor. "An escape pod. Experimental, FTL-capable. I'm not too sure of the specifics. The people of my House were...influential. Krypton valued men and women of science above almost any other class. Even then, they weren't able to convince the High Council that our planet was doomed. So they devised a way to flee, but Krypton's destruction was too sudden; they only managed to build a couple of smaller vessels." –she explains. "The plan ended up being for me and my cousin, Kal, to survive here on Earth. He was just a baby..."
"So, what, there's a 'Superboy' out in Kansas, or something?"
She sakes her head, closing her fingers around the silver metal. "Kal-El didn't make it. Or, at least, S.H.I.E.L.D. never found his pod."
Her host sighs. "I'm sorry."
Kara offers him a weak smile. "Like you said, it's been eight years. I've had time to come to terms with my situation. As far as I know, I'm the last Kryptonian alive."
"Right."
She sets the metal, now bent beyond recognition, down on the workbench. "You were expecting me, weren't you?"
Stark seems to regain his pep with the change of subject. "I was. Not exactly waiting on you, though. Lots to do. But yeah, Cap thought we might see some new faces around here, trying to help; you were obviously one of them."
Kara raises an eyebrow. "'Cap' as in Captain America? I thought I might've seen him running around during the battle."
He nods. "We don't exactly see eye to eye on everything. But we both agree that the Avengers weren't nearly enough. It's hard to admit, but the truth is, we got lucky - five colorful guys and la femme Nikita just weren't a match for a few thousand Chitauri. Whom, I'm assuming, you know nothing about."
She shakes her head. "No, sorry. I knew a few of the more important species out there. Tamaraneans, Thanagarians, y'know? The big names. 'Chitauri' doesn't ring a bell." –she says, then blinks. "Wait...are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you...asking me to join the Avengers?"
The billionaire inventor shrugs. "Nothing so formal, but...you're recently unemployed, and Thor's gone back to norse heaven for a while, so we might be on the market for a Supergirl."
"Geez. Barely starting and I'm already subbing in for the god, huh?" –she teases.
"In a very roundabout way, I think it's a compliment? What do you think?"
Kara stares at the front page of the Bugle again – which just so happens to have popped back up during Stark's little pitch. She's aware of the sheer weight of the decision she's making – dedicating her life to heroism doesn't exactly seem like a career path she can back out of. But the truth is, she's already made her choice – it happened in Jameson's office, the moment she couldn't stand to let Earth fall to a fate akin to Krypton's.
"I think...I think I should get used to 'Supergirl'."
As always, thank you for your attention! Make sure to comment or message me if you have any questions about this story. Look me up on Twitter as Darthkvzn or Tumblr as darthkvznblogs if you'd like - and on Ko-fi, as Darthkvzn, if you like what I do and have a buck to spare.
Until next time!