As Kara walked round the large room that night, a fake smile plastered on her face she suddenly felt an arm round her shoulder and a familiar voice say.
"There you are. I was worried you wouldn't make it."
"Steve?" Kara asked as he rotated her round, whilst keeping his arm on her shoulder, until she was facing a group of four women and two men.
"Hi." She said confused.
"These are my colleagues." Steve said.
"Hi." Kara repeated.
"Wow, you actually exist." One of the women said.
"Um, yes." Kara said still confused.
"We thought he made you up." An older woman said.
"No, I'm real." Kara said, still lost.
"Real and named?" The woman asked.
"Sorry?" Kara asked.
"For all his talk about you, he had never actually told us your name."
"Sure I did." Steve said.
"No you didn't. I remember these things." The woman said.
"I'm Kara." Kara said introducing herself, still no idea what was happening.
"Nice to meet you." The woman said. "And you do make a lovely couple."
"Anyway, if you'll excuse us." Steve said guiding Kara away from the group.
"Couple?" Kara asked as they walked away.
"I'm so sorry. I saw you and panicked. I will make it up to you and if you want to go I get it. But you would be saving me if you stayed and kept up this charade and I can offer you …. um …." He said feeling his jacket pockets before finally pulling out a Mars Bar. "This." He said.
"You want to buy me with a Mars Bar?" Kara asked.
"I am just realising how that sounds and wish I could take it back. But I can't."
"What's going on?"
"Fi, the woman with red hair has been trying to set me up on dates for months. When she stopped buying the I'm busy with Martin excuse I told her I already had a girlfriend. Which was really easy to lie about until we were ordered to come to this events with partners. When I didn't have one they started to ask a lot of questions and I think doubting the existence of my fake girlfriend. I was just about to tell them she dumped me when I saw you and well you know the rest." He said as a familiar voice asked.
"What do we have here?"
"Lena?" Kara asked turning. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm a benefactor. More importantly is there something you two want to tell me?"
"Steve paid me to be his girlfriend." Kara explained.
"I am never going to live this down am I?" He asked.
"Food is normally a good way to earn forgiveness." Lena said.
"Only it was a Mars bar I offered her."
"You bought her with food at an event where there is a buffet?" Lena asked amused.
"This is going to be a long evening." Steve said before noticing Fi was approaching them once more. "We should move before the interrogation starts." He said. "Want to dance?"
"Sure." Kara said. "But if I break your foot, you are responsible."
"Seems fair." He said leading her to the dance floor just as Fi arrived by Lena's side.
"They make such a nice couple." Fi commented. "And despite how long they have been dating they still look like this is their first date."
"How long have they been dating? Officially that is?" Lena asked.
"Steve told us about her three months ago. To be honest some of us thought he made the whole thing up."
-00-
"Problem?" Eliza asked as her eldest daughter's phone kept buzzing as the group ate dinner.
"I hope not." Alex said. But when her phone kept buzzing she sighed and said. "I better check."
"I'll get it." MJ offered jumping up and getting his mom's phone off the side. Glancing at the phone he said. "It's eight messages from Lena."
Frowning Alex took her phone and started to read the messages as more came in.
After a moment Alex passed her mother the phone and asked.
"Did you know about this?"
"No." Eliza said looking at the photos.
"Can the rest of us play with our phones?" MJ asked.
"Sure." His mother said distracted by the latest photos to be sent over.
"What's going on?" The teenage Kara asked.
"Nothing Sweetie." Eliza said. Not taking her word for it the teenager leaned round and looked over her mother's shoulder.
"Is that aunt Kara and Steve?" She asked.
"What's wrong with mom?" The teenage Alex asked.
"Nothing." Eliza said.
-00-
"Is that Kara?" Sam asked J'onn who had taken the form of a different male.
"It looks like it."
"Are they dating."
"Not that she mentioned." J'onn said as Lena stepped up to them.
"This is a night full of surprises." Lena commented. "What are you doing in National City?"
"Last minute intel about tonight's guest list. Veronica Cale is here." Sam said. "So J'onn flew me over." She explained.
"J'onn?" Lena asked looking at the man by Sam's side.
"Hello Lena." He nodded.
"And as much as I want to hear what's going on over there," Sam said nodding to Kara and Steve, "something seemed off with Veronica."
"What do mean?" Lena asked.
"I know I have only met her a few times, but she seemed different somehow. I can't put my finger on it, but something wasn't right."
"I am trying to get a read, but I haven't managed so far." J'onn said.
"Well you may get another chance." Lena said noticing a large man was leading Veronica over to Kara and Steve.
-00-
"Steven!" A deep voice called from behind causing Steve to turn.
"Dr Franklin." Steve smiled.
"I want you to meet one of our benefactors. This is Dr Veronica Cale."
"Dr Cale. It's a pleasure. Your work is amazing." He smiled. "Oh and this is Kara Danvers." He said introducing Kara to the pair.
"Of CatCo Magazine?" Veronica asked.
"Yes." Kara confirmed.
"I see." She said cooly.
"Excuse me." Franklin said wondering off to network with bigger fish
"Are you one of Cat's followers?" Veronica asked Kara.
"I work for her if that is what you mean." Kara said.
"And let me guess, you support Supergirl." Veronica said.
"Yes." Kara said.
"And therein lies the problem."
"I don't see it." Steve said. "What's wrong with Supergirl?"
"She came here, pranced round as a god and then she took a career break. All good and well. Very modern. But the city had grown reliant on her."
"So she shouldn't have a life?" Steve asked. "And wasn't it more of a case of saving the city rather than prancing round?"
"Regardless we should be able to defend ourselves. Ultimately this is our planet, our responsibility."
"Isn't it Supergirl's planet too?" Steve asked. "I mean she has lived here a long time and given a lot for this world. More than most humans."
"Maybe, but we should not become dependent on her."
"Surely that is like saying my patients should not become dependent on your medicines. I mean you could stop selling it or make it too expensive."
"I see you have already been brainwashed." Veronica said before walking away.
"Well I'm fired." Steve said before noticing Kara, whose expression had become rather cold and stone like. "You okay?" Steve asked. Not getting a response he asked. "Kara?"
"What? Sorry." She said snapping to the present.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"Everything okay?" Lena asked walking towards them with Sam and 'J'onn'.
"I think I may have just insulted a benefactor to the point of being fired." Steve said.
"What did you do?" Lena asked.
"Defended Supergirl."
"To Veronica?" Lena asked.
"Yes."
"Yeah, you're fired." Lena agreed.
-00-
"I'm back." Kara said entering Alex's kitchen.
"For someone who claims to be just friends you seemed to be having a lot of fun." Her sister said.
"What?"
"The dancing." Alex said. "The very close dancing. The whispered conversations, the flirting." Alex said showing her sister the pictures of her and Steve.
"Seriously? There are drugs being sold to teens, missing metas, missing spiders and Veronica Cale who is the latest person to hate Supergirl and all you can do is gossip about my life and make up stories?" Kara snapped.
"We're only teasing." Eliza said. "None of us meant to upset you."
"I know. I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just tired." Kara said. "Plus Veronica Cale got under my skin. I need to get some sleep. Is Alex still here?"
"She fell to sleep on the couch. She's still there." Her sister said.
"Ok, I'll take her home. I'll see you tomorrow." Kara said walking to the lounge before carefully scooping up her sleeping daughter and taking her back to the apartment.
-00-
"What are you doing up?" Eliza asked as she joined her eldest in the kitchen in the early hours.
"Mom? Did I wake you?" Alex asked turning to face her mother.
"You are pacing pretty loudly. Are you going stand on guard duty every night?"
"Guard duty?" Alex asked confused.
"Diz and Kara. Isn't that what is keeping you up?"
"No. I trust them. Kind of."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I just feel like I am missing something."
"With what?"
"Kara and what happened." Alex said. "I mean she was called to a location where she was told to take that Kryptonite compound? But she didn't. Instead she stuck her hand in Kryptonite. But if it was a trap to get Kara, there would have been people there to get her. They could have used Kryptonite gas or red lamps. There were at least twenty ways to get her. But she got out. So what if that was the trap?"
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe there was something in that molten Kryptonite."
"Didn't you just check her for Red K?" Eliza asked.
"Yes."
"And you saw nothing strange."
"I know, but we never really looked for anything other than Red K. And after she got back form the molten Kryptonite no one really tested her properly. I mean every one was focused on me." Alex said.
"But it has been nearly three weeks." Eliza said.
"What if it was slow growing?" Alex asked.
"You think there was a virus?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Alex said as she subconsciously rubbed her bad shoulder. "I just feel like we have missed something. Maybe it is nothing I just, I can't shake this feeling. And you have to admit Kara is acting differently. And I know she has been through a lot and it could be down to that. But I don't want to risk missing something else happening."
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I mean we can run tests, but what would we even look for?"
"Get some sleep." Eliza said. "We'll start looking tomorrow, well later today."
"Okay."