Updated chapter 16! Hope you enjoy!

Kara is a fairly light sleeper – always has been, even on Krypton, but her enhanced physiology on Earth has made her need for sleep nearly negligible. She still does it – who doesn't enjoy a nice nap? – but her superhuman hearing and the occasional nightmare make her sleep choppy, at best.

That's how she wakes up knowing she's not alone in her room.

"Jesus, really?" –a woman mutters, much too close for comfort. "This is...legitimately upsetting."

Kara frowns, reaching for her glasses. "Who are you?" –she asks, rising as she tries to blink the sleep out of her eyes.

The figure sits at the couch beside her bed, the one Winn slept at their first night in the Tower. "World's greatest assassin." –she says, sarcastic. "Though since you and Rogers showed up, my stealth skills seem to be...lacking."

Kara raises an eyebrow. "Are you...here to kill me?"

The woman leans forward. "You don't sound all that worried." –she notes.

"Well, I'm...me." –Kara shrugs, awkwardly. "Y'know, Supergirl?"

"So I've heard." –the woman says. "So, can you die? Is there anything I could do that'd even leave a mark?"

Kara scowls. "I'm not immortal." –she says, darkly. Even one was too many, but Kara's seen too many dead Kryptonians to even pretend to consider whether her Sol-given powers have changed that. "But I won't be dying today."

Fast as lightning, Kara propels herself out of bed, grabbing the intruder – whose reaction time is admirable, if insufficient – by the neckline of her outfit. JARVIS automatically turns every light in the room on, finally giving Kara a good look at her guest. She's a bombshell of a svelte, short woman, red-haired and green-eyed – and, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful women she's ever seen. She's clad in a skin-tight, black leather catsuit, a red hourglass symbol adorning her abdomen. Even without the use of her x-ray vision, Kara can make out several pistols, knives, and ammo cartridges, as well as the signature, electrified forearm bracers of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most lethal asset.

"Temper, temper, Supergirl." –the Black Widow teases, nonplussed. "Natasha Romanoff. Pleasure to meet you."

Kara gives her a withering look as she gently sets her down, floating down to sit on her bed. "Is this what Alex meant when she told me you had a problem with personal boundaries?"

"Oh, your sister was far too welcoming to mean that." –she says, a none-too-innocent smirk forming.

Kara wrinkles her nose. "Gross."

Romanoff snort-laughs – kind of cute, if not for the fact that Kara is keenly aware of the kind of tally the Russian femme fatale is responsible for. "Relax, I'm joking. Your sister is far too stuck up for my tastes, anyway."

Kara crosses her arms, miffed. "Why are you here?"

"Well, since you guys seem to actually be serious about this Avengers business, Clint and I figured we'd come in and check things out for ourselves. See what all the fuss is about."

"I mean in my room, Romanoff. You couldn't wait in the common room? It's not like I ever sleep in."

She smirks. "Please, call me Nat. And...I suppose I was curious. I like to push people's buttons, figure out what makes them tick. You can only learn so much from a file – and you're an alien on top of that. Besides, Thor wasn't around all that long, and Loki was disappointingly easy to read."

Kara frowns. "Well, I hope you've had your fill. I'm taking a shower now."

"That an invitation?"

The Kryptonian groans. "Do you want me to kick you through the door, Nat?"

Natasha snickers. "Who'd have thought the strongest girl in the world would be such a prude? Fine, I'll leave you to your modesty, Danvers. Best get to it anyway, the Captain called for an all-hands meeting."

Kara raises an eyebrow. "Another mission already."

The spy shakes her head. "The world isn't so fucked up that the Avengers are needed on the daily. Not yet, anyway." –she shrugs. "No, you've got a date with Bruce's better half. Tony's new base is ready for your little skirmish."

Right after her shower, Kara finds herself making a beeline for the kitchen, only to find a crowd already there. Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, and a couple of guys she hasn't met before are all waiting for her, circled around the breakfast table, all of them either in uniform or underarmor. On the table is a single plate, covered in a napkin.

Rogers amusedly hands Stark a five dollar bill. "What's going on here?" –Kara asks, suspicious.

"I bet Cap you'd be heading straight for the kitchen as soon as you were decent. He thought you'd be a dutiful little teammate and skip breakfast in favor of going to the hangar." –Stark explains. "I know my superhumans better than the super soldier himself, apparently."

Kara blushes. "Sorry. I need calories like you need caffeine."

"Well put. You've met Romanoff already, but that's Clint and Rhodey." –he says, pointing at the Caucasian guy with the purple sunglasses and the dark-skinned man wearing a similar undersuit to Tony's beside him. "The Hawk and the Platypus, respectively."

Clint gives her a barely perceptible, curt nod, while Rhodey offers a handshake, which she gingerly returns. "Do me a favor and ignore the monotreme nickname, alright? Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, at your service." –he says, with a charming smile. "Hell of a grip you got there."

Kara rubs the back of her head. "...sorry, it's kind of a thing with me." –she says. "I'm Kara Danvers. It's nice to meet you."

Stark elbows Rogers. "What did I tell ya? Rhodey's a perfect fit for the team."

Kara gasps. "You're an Avenger too?"

Rhodes nods. "Technically on loan from the Air Force. Since they couldn't make heads or tails out of the suit Tony made for me, they agreed to let me join the team in between missions." –he explains, then frowns. "I couldn't be here to fight against the Chitauri on time – I'm no Iron Man, but I still should've done my part. I'm not missing out again. So, you can count on the War Machine."

"Supergirl." –she reciprocates, smiling. "Well, I'm glad you're here."

"All hands on deck, right?" –he shrugs. "Good to be here."

Stark rolls his eyes. "Alright, you two – the sap's starting to drip all over us manly superheroes. Now, I know you're looking forward to a nice, big breakfast courtesy of your obscenely rich friend, Tony Stark – that's me – which leads us to our second order of business for the day." –he says, then gestures exaggeratedly at the covered up plate, like a very proud chef. "Voilà!"

He yanks the napkin away, revealing...an oatmeal bar. Kara raises an eyebrow. "I...hope you've got like, fifty more of those hidden behind your back. I'm not seeing my recommended twelve thousand calories."

Tony shakes his head. "No need for more. Within the confines of the oatmeal crust you can plainly see, there's a hyper-dense core of pure nutrients, calibrated for your Kryptonian biology." –he explains, much too proud of himself. He smirks. "Bruce and I got bored last night and invented this thing while you were hanging out with the vigilantes."

Bruce winces. "I want no credit for this. It tastes like motor oil and sadness – and I'm not even exaggerating, either. Hulk, he's...actually ripped out an engine with his teeth before. Think it was a Humvee?"

The room snickers. "Gross. I'll try it, anyway."

Rogers hands her the plate. She grabs the bar, guffawing when she notices the hairline cracks on the ceramic underneath – hyper-dense indeed. Kara bites into it, and munches on.

Tony pales as she does. "...holy shit, she actually likes it."

The Kryptonian turns beet red. "...it's actually really tasty."

The billionaire inventor breaks out in cackles, Rogers chuckles, and the rest all at least grin or smirk a little. "Well, the more you freakin' know; I guess Kryptonians like the taste of motor oil."

"We never had fossil fuels on Krypton! How was I supposed to know they'd be, like, a delicacy?"

On the way to the upstate facility, Kara pulls out her phone – fun times, and all, but they still need to figure out Project Centipede. She brings up the direct message interface, takes a deep breath, and gets to typing.

Avengers: Hey Lena?

Lena_Luthor: Yes, overwhelmingly male-centric assortment of borderline comic book characters?

Kara snorts, despite herself. She won't be admitting it to anyone, anytime soon, but...Rao, she missed Lena's dry humor.

Avengers: Har-har. It's Kara.

Lena_Luthor: I gathered as much, yes. To what do I owe the pleasure?

Avengers: Wanted to talk to you about OsCorp. I need a favor.

Lena_Luthor: How fortuitous; I need to speak to you as well. I believe I've found something you and the rest of your colorful friends need to see.

Kara's eyes widen, and she nearly crushes the titanium alloy phone Tony specifically designed for her to not-so-easily destroy.

Avengers: !

Let's meet ASAP. I've got a thing, but I can cancel.

She nearly rips out of the secured seat in the back of the Quinjet in her rush to tell Tony to turn right back around, but Lena quickly stops her.

Lena_Luthor: Don't. Go about your day as you normally would. I need to set some things up, anyway. Meet me at the office after midnight. Friends are not required, but...encouraged.

Her lips tremble at the thought of Lena in danger – and they shouldn't, they haven't made up at all, haven't even talked about what happened back then, but she can't help it.

It's Lena.

Of course, being Lena, Kara knows she means it – going to her now will only make things more complicated. She has no choice but to trust her – even if it means she's going to spend the entire day worried.

Avengers: Midnight it is.

...please be careful, Lena.

Immediately afterward, Kara creates a new message chain.

Avengers: How's Karen doing?

SpiderMan: omg how do i even have this acct!?1? i swear it wasnt on my phone yesterday

shes fine btw. shaken but already walkin around

karens a tough cookie

Kara smirks – she had JARVIS create a secured account for Peter to use and safely communicate with her.

Avengers: Always assume JARVIS is involved whenever something weird involving tech happens.

Glad Karen's ok. Wanted to let you know I can't make it to patrol tonight.

SpiderMan: no prob! guess ill just...brave the wild streets of ny all by my lonesome tonite

She snorts; she's seen firsthand how much of a pro Peter already is.

Avengers: Spare me the guilt trip, Spidey.

I kinda need a favor, though.

SpiderMan: whats up?

Avengers: Think you could swing by OsCorp around midnight? I know it'll be a bit late, but...might be something going on. Might be nothing, too, but I'd rather be safe.

SpiderMan: ...

u cant see my face but i legit just teared up a lil bit

u have like the whole ass AVENGERS and ur asking me?

There's the insecurity, rearing its ugly head again. Never hurts to reinforce his belief in himself.

Avengers: Of course. I trust you, Spider-Man.

SpiderMan: OMG YOU HYPHENATED AND EVERYTHING

ill be there dont worry

bringin all the quips and thwips u can handle

Kara blinks, tilting her head in confusion.

Avengers: I'm almost afraid to ask, but...what's a "thwip"?

SpiderMan: its an onomatopeia duh

u didnt hear it the other night?

Avengers: Nope. I'll be sure to listen for it tonight.

Gotta go, now. I may or may not be about to fight the Hulk.

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!